Trainer and the Princess 2
by black angel 2011
Summary: Ash and Salvia continue their journey but this time in the Johto region, Ash is left with an unanswered question and Salvia is faced with two choices which could split Ash and Salvia up. Team Rocket is preparing to make their ambitions a reality while Chris has captured the King and Delia, still an AshXSalvia story
1. Devestating News

**Training the Princess 2:**

**Episode 27: devastating News.**

_Now the second part of their journey begins, 1 week after their first major date._

_Lyra: 15_

_Marina: 16_

_Jimmy: 16_

* * *

Ash and Salvia were walking around in New Bark Town with Misty and Cilan following close behind, Salvia remained quiet not saying a word to Ash and her other friends, she pulled out a letter and her father's pokeball from her pocket, she seemed lost at what to do next, she unfolded the letter and read the contents again, "what do I do now, my father and Colin have been captured, plus my dad has left me Latios," Salvia explained as tears started to roll down her face.

Ash stopped on the spot and looked at the ground, "Salvia, I promise you that I will rescue your father and our friend Colin," Ash stated as he took the letter from Salvia, he took the pokeball and called out the pokemon, "King Brian sent this pokemon to you to help guard you from your uncle and Team Rocket," Ash explained as the princess walked up ahead, the trainer recalled the pokemon and walked up to the young royal.

"Ash, I might hand myself in to save my dad," Salvia said with a saddened look in her eyes.

Ash walked up to the princess and grabbed her arm holding onto it tightly, "no, I will not allow you to do such a thing, I promised Colin and your dad that nothing will happen to you," Ash told the bluenette as she looked away from the trainer who was determined to look after her, "I know this is a trap, but if you fall for it alone, you will never be able to get out of it alone," Ash stated as he turned the princess around, "look into my eyes, I promise to help your father and our friend Colin," Ash dictated as the royal lifted her head up and looking into the determined eyes of Ash.

Salvia started to cry as she embraced Ash in front of Misty and Cilan, "I don't know what to do anymore, please Ash you must do something," Salvia cried as the trainer placed his arms around the princess.

"Shhhh, it will be all fine, I will make sure you're safe and I will make sure to stop your uncle and Alex," Ash said while the young girl continued to cry in his embrace, 'right now she isn't certain what to do anymore, but I will make sure she takes the right road,' Ash thought while petting the bluenette's long hair.

_(Flashback) one week ago_

Ash and Salvia we're walking back home holding each other's hands, having another day together while Misty and Cilan were busy helping out Professor Oak with Ash's pokemon, Salvia was the first to walk into the house only to find silence had dropped down upon them, "Lady Delia, we're home," Salvia called out to Ash's mother, the walked into the kitchen only to find that no one was there, "odd your mother is usually greeting us," Salvia told the trainer calmly.

Ash looked around the house and to find that his mother wasn't around, "I know, she is either cooking for us or she is gardening," Ash said calmly as he walked into the kitchen, "I will give Professor Oak a call, to see if he knows what's going on.

Ash walked up to the phone to call his friend, "oh Ash, good to see you have called me, I was hoping to see when you will be ready to take the next part of your jouney," the professor said with a smile before a loud scream was heard in the background, "Ash what happened?" the elderly professor asked in concern.

Ash turned around to find Salvia on her knees crying with a letter in her hand, "I will call you back later," Ash said with a frown before walking up to the princess, he was given the letter and quickly took a look at it, "what? The king and Colin has been captured," Ash said as he looked further down the letter, with great shock he found that his mother was also taken to Johto, "no this can't be good, they plan to lure us out," Ash said with shock.

He knelt down to the princess and looked into her saddened eyes, "my dad, my friend and Lady Delia all have been captured," Salvia said with regret written over her face, Ash looked around to see if there were any clues to what had happened, he walked outside to find if anything could help them out, "everything was going so well," Salvia said as she took the seat, she looked around to find a red and white device in a jar, "a pokeball, Ash, I think I found something," Salvia called over to Ash, she pulled the ball out of the jar and ran to Ash.

Ash walked over to the princess and grabbed the pokeball, "this will help us out," Ash said as he called out the pokemon.

Much to the surprise of Ash and Salvia a mostly blue and grey pokemon appeared in front of them, "my dad's pokemon, he must have left it here in case something like this did occur, but why?" Salvia asked as she recalled the pokemon, Latios hovered next to Salvia as a small pink pokemon appeared next to Salvia, "Ash, our most important people have been captured, what do we do?" Salvia asked the trainer who remained calm.

Ash walked out of the gates of the house, he looked over to the princess and nodded seriously, "we're going to Johto now," Ash declared with confidence as he walked through the town with Salvia walking next to him with the small pink pokemon flying next to them, "Mew, are you sure you want to follow us?" Ash asked the small pokemon, it nodded and continued to follow them to the professor's lab.

After walking to the professor's lab the two walked into the lab only to be greeted by Misty, Cilan and Tracy. "Ash, I thought you were going to give Professor Oak a call," Misty said with a frown as the trainer walked pass her with a serious expression on his face.

"We're going to Johto now," Ash decreed as he walked up to the professor with an anger looking in his eyes, "we have a dire situation, I need Dragonair, Metagross, Infernape, Sceptile, Samurott and Raichu you will also be coming," Ash told his partner pokemon with confidence before being given his requested team. Ash looked over to Salvia who was holding onto her dad's pokemon, "She will need, Dragonite, Tyranitar, Ninetails, Raichu and she will be taking her father's pokemon the legendary Latios," Ash said while choosing Salvia's team for the next part of their journey.

"Ash, what happened?" Cilan asked with a frown.

Ash turned around with and looked over to his friends while Salvia started to cry, "my mom, King Brian and Colin have all been capture by Chris and Alex, all we have left is a letter and Latios," Ash explained while punching the wall next to him.

Misty and Cilan looked at each other as their friends walked out of the lab, Salvia called out her Dragonite allowing Ash to climb on with her sitting behind him, Misty and Cilan got out of the lab before they could take off, "wait up, we will go with you," Misty declared calmly forcing Ash and the princess off the massive dragon type, "Ash and Salvia, it will be better if we go by foot, it will take longer but we will not be found as easily," Misty pointed out with a smile.

Salvia recalled her starter pokemon and looked to her friends, "what do I do now?" Salvia asked her friends as she looked at the ground in frustration.

"We can't fall for this trap Salvia, we need to train our pokemon and prepare to rescue our family," Ash instructed the princess, "while we're at it I need to battle the three pin masters in Johto," Ash decreed while trying to keep calm, "Salvia, why not battle the gym leaders in an unofficial battle, they will provide great training for you," Ash pointed out as the princess looked up to the trainer but she shook her head in disapproval, "you only want me to train you," Ash said as Salvia nodded in approval.

_Back from Flashback._

Walking up to the lab in the small town Ash, Salvia and their friends walked up to a large building near the exit of the town, "It seems like we should visit Professor Elm," Ash stated calmly as he walked up to the door with the princess standing behind him. The trainer knocked on the door of the lab only to be greeted by a young lady with short brown hair, wearing denim overalls with a magenta long sleeve shirt, white long stockings and a white hat with red shoes. "Lyra, so good to see you again," Ash said calmly as the girl allowed them in.

"Ash it's good to see you again," the young girl said happily as she walked them through the lab, "sorry we are pretty busy at the moment, we have heard news that Team Rocket has taken over Goldenrod City so Marina and Jimmy are heading there to inspect the situation," Lyra pointed out with a frown.

Ash and Salvia walked into the professor's research room and looked around to see if the professor was around, "Professor Elm, we need to talk to you for a moment," Ash said while looking around the lab.

A Professor with short brown hair wearing a white lab coat with a light blue shirt, green trousers and brown shoes appeared over his book, "sorry about that, I have been trying to find a way to diffuse the situation in Goldenrod City, but unfortunately nothing seems to work," the professor stated with a worried look in his face, "I can't even focus on my job, I am relying on Lyra to hand out pokemon and pokedexes to new trainers," Professor Elm explained as he picked up his phone to give his mentor a call, "I am sorry guys but I cannot help you at the moment," Elm stated with a frown while hiding behind his books.

Ash and Salvia looked at one another, they walked out to see Lyra who was standing there with her hands on her hips, "I am sorry Ash, but things got pretty bad over the last few weeks, it was sudden Team Rocket over ran the city, there was nothing that could have been done," Lyra pointed out as she escorted Ash, Salvia, Misty and Cilan to the lounge to talk about the terrible situation, "Professor Elm has been contacting the other professors to get assistance from other trainers but sadly that has fallen on deaf ears, I would love to help but I fear that I am not strong enough to face Team Rocket on my own," Lyra explained with a saddened look in her eyes.

Ash stood up and smashed his fist on the table, "this is stupid, how are we supposed to do anything if we have no one helping out?" Ash asked in anger as a small blue pokemon with red spines appeared next to Salvia, it walked up and started to leave the room and go outside to think about the next course of action.

After making outside Salvia approached the trainer, she grabbed his hand with both her hands, "Ash, I am lost, while in Kanto I was so certain of what to do, my road was set, but now it doesn't seem so easy anymore," Salvia said while the trainer looked to the ground, "you tell me not to hand myself in, yet my duties to my kingdom is important to," Salvia explained as she embraced Ash again, "I don't know what to do anymore," Salvia cried as the trainer returned the embrace.

Ash looked into the distance and glared at the setting sun, "I will make sure you have both, you said last week," Ash started while placing his hand in Salvia's long blue hair, "you said last week, you will remain by my side no matter what," Ash said while trying to keep calm.

Salvia's tears started to dampen his jacket, "yes but my Dad was taken by my uncle and your mother has also been taken" Salvia pointed out while snuggling her head into Ash's chest, "all I have left is my dad's pokemon, you have very little left at the moment," Salvia said quietly as her eyes started to itch from all the tears, but Ash remained calm trying to put up a strong front for the princess, ÿet you remain calm, I am just wondering do you even care?" Salvia asked before being pushed back by the trainer, he gabbed both her arms and looked into her eyes.

"Of course I care, it's just at the moment we aren't able to do anything," Ash said in frustration before turning away from the young royal, "you aren't the only one to have a loved one captured, remember my mother has been captured as well!" Ash snapped at the princess before heading out to the route on his own with Raichu following him.

Salvia watched as the trainer walked alone, she wanted to follow him but her feet wouldn't allow her to move, she knelt to the ground as she felt the world around her had just crumbled beneath her feet, a small blue pokemon appeared next to Salvia and tried to comfort her as best as possible, "whatever you are, thanks for helping me," She told the big jaw pokemon gently as she pet it on the head.

Lyra walked up to Salvia and handed her the pokeball for the crocodile like pokemon, "it seems like Totodile wants to join you," Lyra stated with a smile as the royal recalled the pokemon quietly, "Misty and Cilan have told me what has happened, I will try and get Marina and Jimmy to help out but they might be too busy to do anything," Lyra pointed out quietly before turning back to the lab to walk in, she opened the door and looked over her shoulder, "Salvia, you need to trust Ash," Lyra stated as she enter the lab while Salvia looked into the distance on her own.

Salvia slowly picked herself up and walked into the same direction as Ash, "I will do whatever it takes to save the most important people in my life," Salvia told herself as she spotted Ash at the lake front with Raichu standing next to him, Salvia walked over to a tree and hid behind it so she could hear what Ash was saying without being caught, 'I am sorry Ash,' Salvia said with a down trodden look on her face.

Ash grabbed a stone and skimmed it across the water, "you know Raichu, I can't help it but to blame myself for all of this," Ash said while Salvia watched in shock as the trainer picked up another stone, "I mean, I have put more than one person in danger by looking after Salvia, all she wants is to travel and see the world, there is nothing wrong with that, I have done that since I was ten years old," Ash explained while Salvia placed her hand over mouth a gasped, "maybe one day when everything is settled, I would like to settle down as a trainer," Ash said quietly as the princess stepped back before snapping a twig, Ash suddenly turned around to find no one there, "who's there?" Ash asked in shock.

Salvia moved from behind the bushes while clasping her hands, she approached the trainer quietly and sat down next to him, "Ash, I am sorry, I should be trusting you more, but I feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders," Salvia explained as she looked out to the lake she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees, "maybe there is a way I can choose both, but what should I do to have both?" Salvia asked herself while turning her head to Ash Ketchum.

Ash placed his hand on the princess's shoulder and smiled at her, "the answer will come to you, at the moment, you really have two choices me or your kingdom, I know there is a third which is both, but that one doesn't look good either," Ash explained with a smile while placing his arm around the princess to let her rest on the trainer again, "I trust that you will find the answer Salvia, your dad and Colin trust you more than ever," Ash told the princess with a smile as he kissed her on the forehead. The experienced trainer stood up and threw another stone in the water, "come on Salvia we need to see how Misty and Cilan are going," Ash stated while extending his hand out to the princess, "I will hold your hand for as long as it takes for you to find your answer," Ash said with a grin.

Salvia took the trainers hand before helping her up, "Ash thanks for giving me guidance, I am sure that taking the third choice as of now will not lead me to a road of regret," Salvia told the trainer with a smile while placing her arm around the trainer, "please Ash, don't do anything that will make me cry," Salvia requested the trainer gently as they walked back to the small town.

Ash walked quietly as the words of Salvia rang in his mind, "Salvia, you don't have anything to worry about," Ash told the royal while holding her closely, he looked up and saw his friends smiling at them they approached Ash and Salvia while Lyra watched from the distance, "so where is the next road going to take us," Ash asked calmly as he let Salvia go.

Cilan looked into the distance an frowned, "It seems like we need to go thought Azalea Town and through Ilex Forest," Cilan replied with nervously as he pulled out a map, "the biggest problem for us is what we don't know, we have no idea what they are looking for," Cilan pointed out while Ash looked on the map, "all we know is that In Cianwood City they have your mother, the king and Colin there, in Goldenrod City Marina and Jimmy are stuck there," Cilan pointed out as Ash started to get an idea.

"They could be holding my mom," Ash started calmly as he looked over to the young royal, "her father and our friend Colin for ransom," Ash stated while getting his backpack, he opened his bag and pulled out a white stone from it, "Chris and Alex could be after this," Ash said in frustration while thoughts about their last battle flooded his memory, "back in Seafoam Island this stone sort of come alive and defeated two of their pokemon but nothing else happened," Ash stated while looking at the stone, "maybe I have to become stronger to see what kind of pokemon comes from this stone," Ash stated while putting the stone back into his bag and closing it up again.

Cilan placed his hand on his chin and started to think about what Goldenrod City had to do with it, "but there is one major question, what does Goldenrod City have to do with it Ash?" Cilan asked as he rolled up the map and placed it in his backpack.

The group got back up and started to walk out of the small town, "alright so what will be a big plan? At the moment we need to stop both Team Rocket and Chris," Misty stated as she spotted Salvia who was lagging behind.

Salvia clenched her fists in anger as she looked away, Ash walked up to the royal and took her hands, "come on Salvia, you have friends, you have me, I told you what I will do for you, my mission is the same as it was when we left the Sinnoh region together, I will look after you," Ash assured the princess as he guided her out of the town, "come on Salvia, you were so sure of yourself earlier, you even had your beautiful smile," Ash said while placing his hand on the princess's chin and lifted her head up, Ash looked into the hurting eyes of Salvia and smiled at her, she tried to look away but couldn't help but acknowledge that Ash was the only one she could rely on, "as our good friend Dawn would put it," Ash started before being interrupted by the princess herself.

Salvia looked up and smiled gingerly, "no need to worry," Salvia with a smile as she looked up to Ash, "what do you intend to do to save our loved ones?" Salvia asked the trainer who started to scratch his head, "we can't rush in to put a stop to all of this," Salvia told the trainer quietly as she removed her hands from the trainers and walked up ahead, she looked back and smiled at the trainer who made a promise to protect her, 'we both have an answer to find, I know we will find,' Salvia thought as she moved her hand closer to her chest.

Ash looked down to his Raichu and nodded, he looked up and ran towards the rest of the traveling group, "we have a lot we need to do, but first we head to Cherrygrove City," Ash told the group with his fist raised into the air, "we can't dwell on the bad," Ash said with a smirk as he looked over to the princess.

_Meanwhile in Goldenrod City_

"Is everything going according to plan," Giovanni asked smoothly as he walked up to a group of his best rockets, "I want you all to find those two trainers who have the Rainbow wing," Giovanni instructed a man with short green hair and a woman with long blonde hair, "battle them into submission and bring them to me," he said while turning to Jessie, James and Meowth, "I want you three to find the white stone and it's holder, also bring me the princess of Sinnoh who is following that trainer," Giovanni ordered the next lot of rockets.

Giovanni walked up to Pierce and Dr Zager calmly, "Sir what do you need us to do?" Pierce ask his commander calmly as he saluted to his boss.

"Pierce I want you to keep an eye on Chris and Alex, Dr Zager I need you to lead the research on the remaining legendary beasts of Eceruteak City and the legendary Celebi, also I need you to lure Mew out of hiding, we have evidence to suggest that Mew is following the princess and the white stone holder," Giovanni told his remaining best officers.

Pierce and Zager saluted and left the area with a group of their own men, outside the building two teenagers one with black hair wearing a yellow and black hat wearing a red jumper with yellow and black shorts and shoes and a young lady with short blue hair with pig tails on each side, wearing a pink blouse, a white skirt, blue and white shoes and a blue beanie. The two teens watched the members of Team Rocket leaving the Radio Tower, "Marina, we need to make sure that the Rainbow Wing doesn't fall into Team Rockets hands," the male told the young girl with coolness.

"But Jimmy, how are we supposed to hide? It's only a matter of time before they find us," Marina enquired as she looked down the building to see more members of Team rocket coming out of the trainer station, "we can't even use the rail station to go to Saffron City in Kanto," Marina pointed out as she looked into the distance, "how about the bug catching contest?" Marina asked as she pointed over to the exit of the major city.

The two friends turned around to sit down and think about their next course of action, "we are stuck here for a while, our food is almost gone, there is a chance we might have to resort to stealing food from Team Rocket," Jimmy told the bluenette which shocked her greatly, "isn't like we have much of a choice," Jimmy said in frustration.

"There is another, I can help you get to safety," said a man wearing mostly black with a cape and spikey black hair and standing on his Dragonite.

"Lance so good to see you, but if we get followed?" Jimmy asked while Marina was admiring the cape on Lance.

"Not a chance, I have the rest of the elite four and members of all the gyms working on solving this situation," Lance replied as he helped his friends climb onto his mighty dragon pokemon, "Dragonite, take us to the Lake of Rage," Lance instructed his pokemon quietly, the massive pokemon too off quietly and flew off into the distance.

* * *

**The first Episode of the next part of the Saga continues. What will happen now? Will the pressure of saving the king, Colin and Delia split Ash and Salvia apart? Or will it make their bond stronger?**

**Next time episode 28: Team Rocket Strikes Back**

**I hope you all enjoy this part of the story and yes this one was released quickly. That is because I had a pretty good idea how this episode was going to pan out. This is the direct sequel to the first story, please read and review.**


	2. Team Rocket Strikes Back

**Episode 28: Team Rocket Strikes Back.**

_Time to bring some more action into this story, the Johto part of the story is more serious than the first but it should hand Salvia her greatest challenge._

* * *

The group was sitting in a grassy field near Cherrygrove City having lunch before they got ready to pack their stuff, Ash stood up and walked over to his partner pokemon, he looked over to Salvia's new pokemon and smiled, "Salvia, we need to do some training with your Totodile," Ash commented with a smile.

Salvia turned her gaze to the trainer who was getting ready to battle her new pokemon, "but we are so close to Cherrygrove City," Salvia pointed out as the small cities skyline appeared over the horizon, Misty and Cilan looked at her with concern as she got up and walked towards her pokemon, "I have no time to battle you Ash, I need to find a way to rescue my dad and Colin as well as Lady Delia," Salvia explained much the chagrin of trainer.

Ash shook his head in dismay as got up and called for Raichu, "right enough is enough, if you aren't willing to train in order to save your dad, Colin and my mother then you can forget about rescuing them," Ash said in anger as his electric mouse looked at him in shock, "we barely beat them at Seafoam Island and plus we have Team Rocket to deal with as well, I got you to have your best team with you so I can help train those ones in particular," Ash explained as the princess ignored him, "that's it Raichu aim a Thunderbolt at Totodiles feet, just don't hit it," Ash instructed his pokemon much to his friends shock.

Totodile barely missed the attack as Salvia watched in horror as her pokemon continued to dodge the attack, "what are you doing Ash?" Salvia asked the trainer as her pokemon was hit by a stray Thunderbolt.

"Salvia, get a hold of yourself, you think Team Rocket or your uncle will give you the chance to recover?" Ash asked the princess as Misty tried to get between her friends only to be stopped by Cilan, "the only way you can rescue you dad, Colin and my mother is for you to become stronger, at the moment your pokemon aren't strong enough," Ash said as the young royal dropped to the ground, she looked to the ground and started to cry, "it isn't like I am trying to hurt you, I only want you to become stronger," Ash said as concern now appeared in his voice.

"Ash, stop this, don't you understand that Salvia's dad has been captured," the red head said in anger as she tried to pass Cilan.

"Misty, I don't think you quiet understand the situation," Cilan said with a confident smile, "Ash understands this situation better than you or me, you have to remember his mother was captured as well," Cilan pointed out as Ash stood in front of the bluenette, "Ash only wants the best for her, he is trying to make it that Salvia relies on her strength, so she doesn't rely on Ash when he isn't around," Cilan explained what Ash is thinking.

"Raichu, stand down, Dragonair I choose you," Ash called out his purple dragon type pokemon as the stars flew around the pokemon, "Salvia, if you want to stop you uncle and want to rely on me less, then get up and battle me," Ash said sternly while the princess remained on the ground, "Salvia, I understand what you're going through, you forget my mother has been taken as well, I want to become stronger in order to save her, I need to stop your uncle and look after you as well," Ash said with a frown as he looked up with a more serious expression on his face, "all at the same time!"

Salvia slowly got with a saddened expression on her face, she looked into Ash's determined eyes and looked away at the field, she started to run away with tears in her eyes, "Salvia," Ash called out to her but she wasn't listening, "was I too harsh on her,?" Ash asked himself with concern as he followed the princess who was now in the wilderness on her own, he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder before picking up the bluenettes bag, he walked over to Salvia's Totodile and handed it an Oran Berry, "sorry about that," Ash said with a frown before walking off to find the princess.

Meanwhile Salvia walked off into the nearest trees near the lake to think about what Ash was telling her. "Why was he so harsh on me?" Salvia asked while she rubbed away the tears, she walked over to the lake to see a reflection of her face in the clear water, she closed her eyes and started to think about what had recently happened she opened her eyes and looked at the water again, "maybe I should just give up," Salvia told herself as one of her pokemon came out of its pokeball, the most grey and blue pokemon looked at the princess and shook its head at her, "what am I supposed to do?" Salvia asked the legendary pokemon as it looked up to the forest behind her.

The legendary pokemon used its psychic powers to create an image in the water, Salvia looked down to see the pictures of her father and Colin, "dad, Sir Colin," Salvia called out before disappearing, next up was a picture of Delia who then vanished, "what are you telling me Latios?" Salvia asked the legendary pokemon as an image of Ash appeared in the water with grave injuries, she looked up at the pokemon, "the future?" Salvia asked as the pokemon saw her uncle ruling the Sinnoh region tyrannically, "are you showing me this because you think I can change this direction?" Salvia asked the eon pokemon.

After a long time Ash finally made it to where the princess was sitting down, "finally caught up to you," Ash said with great relief as he walked up to the young royal, he sat down to the princess who was resting her head on her knees, "Salvia I have come to apologize to you," Ash said while patting Salvia on the back.

"Ash, I saw a vision from Latios, a picture of the future," Salvia said as tears started to flow from her face, "the vision Latios showed me, only gave me two options, to save my kingdom or lose everything," Salvia explained while looking up to Ash who was smiling at her.

"Was I in the vision?" Ash asked the royal as she looked down at the water ignoring Ash's question.

"There were two futures for you Ash, one of them you die and the other we never see each other again," Salvia explained much to the shock of the trainer who gulped at the two possibilities, "I don't want either of those, none of them would ever make me smile again," Salvia explained as she looked up and thought about her journey so far.

Ash laughed at the futures that were presented to the royal, "no future is certain," Ash said with a smile as he placed his arm around the princess to comfort her, "there is always more than two choices, even Latios knows that," Ash told the royal with great wisdom, "there is no way those two futures are your only ones you have princess," Ash told the bluenette as she forced water onto Ash causing him to laugh, "that's a little better Salvia," Ash said with a smirk.

"So what should I do?" Salvia asked the trainer calmly.

"Predicting the future is over rated anyway, you must follow were ever the road takes you, create your own future," Ash said as he got up and extended his hand to the princess as she looked up and smiled at the trainer, "how about I help you on that road," Ash said with a smile as the royal grabbed his hand. The trainer helped the bluenette up.

"I never expected you to cheer me on, it's usually me that cheers you on," Salvia said as she placed her hand on top of Ash's hand, "so what if the pressure becomes too great for me?" Salvia asked her love with a frown.

"Then you should tell me, I am always willing to listen to you," Ash said with a smile while placing his free hand on Salvia's face, "yes we face a tough challenge, the odds are against us, but that is no reason to give up on another choice," Ash said as he looked into Salvia's gentle blues eyes, "I am certain that Latios showed you the possibilities because he thought you needed to change that future," Ash said wisely before a loud explosion ripped across the air, Ash looked around to find smoke rising from the city, "well it seems like we have a problem," Ash said as he turned his gaze back to the princess, "what will you do? Give up on a future that only you can create? Or allow the two shown to you to dominate everything you do?" Ash asked as he walked off leaving the princess thinking about more of Ash's words.

Salvia stood on the spot and smiled, 'Ash is right,' Salvia thought as she took the first steps to defy the futures given to her, she ran up to Ash and took his hand, she looked up to the trainer and smiled, "I will follow my own path, not one that is determined for me," Salvia said quietly as she walked through the forest while holding his hand, "but first we need to deal with what caused those explosions," Salvia remarked as she let go of Ash's hand and started running towards the origins of the detonations.

Ash smiled and closed his eyes, "I won't let her get too far ahead," Ash stated as he ran in the same direction of the princess.

After following the princess he spotted the members of Team Rocket standing at a building with two pokemon, Misty and Cilan walked up to Salvia who was battling one of the members of Team Rocket, "I will not let you hurt these people," Salvia decreed in anger as her Dragonite got ready to face a mostly black pokemon with an orange muzzle and curved horns coming from its head.

Ash quickly made it to their position and called out his dragon type pokemon, "Dragonair, use Dragon Breath," Ash instructed his pokemon to backup Salvia's pokemon. The dragon type sent out a blast of green flames at the two pokemon to allow Salvia to recover, "even if they ambush you Salvia, I will still protect you," Ash said with a smile as the flames smashed into the foes pokemon.

"Ah, you finally made it," said a voice from a distance, "the holder of the white stone, the protector of the princess and the one Mew hides behind," the man with short blue hair pointed out with a dark smile as his partner in crime appeared next to him, "hand over all three and you will be spared our wrath," James said with a smirk as the Rocket trio jumped off the roof and in front of the team of Ash and Salvia.

Ash smirked at the members of Team Rocket before laughing at them, "and if I say no?" Ash enquired confidently as his dragon pokemon got ready to attack the members of Team Rocket.

"Ash in both futures, you don't awaken Reshiram from its confines," Salvia told Ash sadly.

Ash looked over his shoulder and smiled at the princess, "so that's the key to a different future," Ash said as he clicked his fingers, he turned his focus back to the members of Team Rocket and noticed that Misty and CIlan were fighting their own battles against Team Rocket, "I will fight no matter what, I will protect the people important to me," Ash stated with a smile while getting his pokemon ready to battle Team Rocket, "so surrender and handing over the most important person in my life," Ash started as he glared at the rockets as they called out their pokemon to battle Ash, "is something I will never consider doing, so you can give up on that goal," Ash declared with a determined look in his eyes.

"Weezing attack with Smog," James called out for the first attack of the battle, a dark poisonous smog emanated from the poison pokemon.

"Seviper, attack with Poison Tail," Jessie ordered her pokemon, the snake like pokemon charged towards the dragon like pokemon only to be stopped by a much larger dragon type pokemon, "forgot about Dragonite,"Jessie hissed as her pokemon flew towards the building behind her causing significant damage to the building.

Salvia stood next to Ash and glared at her opposnents, "I will not let you harm Ash," Salvia declared with a serious expression on her face, she scowled at the Team Rocket members as a small pink pokemon appeared next to her, "I will battle to," Salvia said as she looked over to the trainer who was now smiling at the fact his teammate was standing at the ready to fight.

"Salvia, you have Dragonite attack at close range, I will have Dragonair attack from a distance," Ash explained the plan causing her to nod in approval, "Dragonair attack with Flamethrower," Ash commanded confidently, the dragon type pushed its head back and sent out a storm of flames towards the two poison pokemon.

"Dragonite, attack with Dragon Rush," Salvia called out for the next attack, the large dragon type pokemon flapped its wings and charged towards the opponents with devastating power, the two attacks combined into one as Dragonite gain a flaming aura, "time to show you what our team is like," Salvia said with her fists clenched as she watched her pokemon smash in to the poison pokemon with overwhelming power.

The poison pokemon flew back towards the building behind them causing the building to collapse behind them, "great their team work is strong," Jessie said in frustration as she recalled her injured pokemon, "Arbok, time to battle," Jessie called out her next pokemon. The large purple pokemon got ready to attack as it coiled its body to pounce at the dragons.

"Cacturne, time for you to enter the battle," James called out a mostly green pokemon.

Ash looked at the two pokemon and recalled his dragon from the battle, "time for a different pokemon, Metagross I choose you," Ash called for his mostly blue pokemon with a silver cross over its face, "attack Arbok with Zen Headbutt," Ash instructed his pokemon with great confidence.

Salvia nodded and looked at her dragon pokemon, "hit Cacturne with Aerial Ace," Salvia commanded with great self-assurance.

"Arbok use Glare," Jessie commanded with certainty.

"Needle Arm now Cacturn," James gave out his instruction to his pokemon, the three pokemon charge at their respective foes but as Metagross got closer it was hit by the glowing eyes of Arbok but it still didn't stop and hit the snake with a powerful blow knocking it back from towards the member of Team Rocket while Cacturnes arm glowed as it swung it around before Dragonite and Cacturne slammed into each other, the two pokemon fell back but Cacturne to the most damage from the dragon type pokemon, "Jessie we need to pull back for now," James said calmly as he recalled his pokemon.

Jessie nodded and looked towards the Team Rocket forces, "alright men, time to leave this place," Jessie told the remaining forces of Team Rocket. The members of Team Rocket unleashed smoke bombs to hide their retreat.

Ash ran into the smoke to see where they went to but it was too late the members of Team Rocket were all gone, "great, this is just great," Ash said in slight irritation as the smoke cleared, he looked over to the princess and smiled at her, "come on, we need to get some rest we haven't see the last of them," Ash said calmly as he walked over to Salvia.

Meanwhile outside of the city the Jessie was calling the boss of Team Rocket, "the princess and the trainer are much stronger than expected," Jessie said with a frown as the boss looked at her calmly.

"I have nothing to worry about, I managed to bring this back under my control," Giovanni said with a dark smirk, "I will send it over to you to see what it is capable of," he said as the pokeball was placed on the teleportation device, "you should have no problems with this ally," Giovanni said as the pokeball arrived at the destination.

Jessie looked at the pokeball and gained an uneasy feeling about it, "James I have a bad feeling about this," Jessie said while holding the pokeball in front of James, she placed it in her pocket and walked over to the forces of Team Rocket, "our goal is to capture that beautiful young lady who is with the trainer, also we need to take the white stone from him," Jessie said as the members of Team Rocket started to cheer.

"We begin our attack at night," James said calmly as he finished healing his pokemon.

_At the whirlpool Islands_

King Brian was sitting in his cell looking for his pokeballs, "can't believe we fell for an ambush," Brian said while hitting the wall of his cell, he looked around even more to find a way for him to escape but there was nothing to help them, "I hope Ash is looking after my daughter, Latios has shown me a future that shows my daughter being happy with Ash, are those just one of them or are there others?" the king asked himself as he looked around to find a woman with shoulder length brown hair wearing a lilac dress and a pink cardigan, "excuse miss who are you?" the king asked the woman looking around in confusion.

"I am Delia Ketchum," the woman introduced herself to the king.

The king looked on in shock as he extended his hand out to shake the woman's hand, "I am King Brian I sent one of my friends to your place to leave a pokeball for my Daughter," the king introduced himself with a smile, "it's great to meet the mother of such a brave young man," the king said as he walked away from the mother.

"So why are we here?" Delia asked as a door opened up behind them.

"I can answer that for you," Chris retorted with a smirk, "you see, I want them to doubt there very next move, I intend to drive a wedge between them by having you captured," Chris explained his plans to the parents of with laughter as he walked up to his brother, "you see when they go their separate ways, the princess will be easy pickings for Alex," Chris pointed out as he looked around to see food on the table, "right now, well I will just have to take care of you, so you better eat your food like a boy," Chris declared as he pass the plate through the cell doors.

"Don't harm my daughter, as well as leaving Ash alone," the king demanded while grabbing his food.

Chris burst out into laughter as he walked up to the woman in the cell, "such a lovely creature, it seems like I have found someone of interest," Chris said as he walked up to one of his guards, "get a pokemon that will hypnotise her," Chris ordered calmly, 'I can force Ash to hand the princess in by making his mother marry me,' Chris thought as laughter echoed through the halls of the old prison.

Delia looked over to the king with worry, "here take this, I will be fine," the king said with a frown.

"King Brian, what is your brother thinking now?" Delia asked the king with great worry.

"Judging by that laugh it can't be good for you," Brian stated with a frown as he took his seat in the prison cell, "with hypnosis, he can force you to marry him, forcing Ash to hand in my daughter, before that time he will separate both of us so I don't tell Ash what really happened," the king explained as he looked to the ground with sadness.

"You're the king you can order the guards to let us go," Delia said with panic in her voice.

The king shook his head, "that won't work, they are only loyal to my brother," Brian said as he lay down on the bed, "we can only hope they reach us in time," the king said in a submissive tone.

"What if they don't reach us in time?" Delia asked as she ate the final bit of food on the plate.

"I doubt we have much to worry about, Ash has sworn to protect my daughter even from me," the king explained with, "even if they don't reach us in time, Ash will make sure my daughter is safe, I just hope he doesn't fall for the trap," the king said while looking up at the ceiling of the prison. 'The future I hope to see is filled with many trials but I believe they can overcome those trials, even the one Ash is about to face,' the king thought as he looked over to the trainers mother with a shameful look in his eyes.

_Back at Cherrygrove City_

It was the middle of the night another explosion lit up the room Ash was in, he quickly made it to the foyer of the medical facility only to be find Salvia waiting at the entrance of the building, she looked over her shoulder and frowned at the trainer, "Ash," Salvia called to the trainer quietly as she exited the building, she walked out of the building and was immediately kidnapped by an ambush force of Team Rocket.

Ash quickly ran out of the building only for a force of psychic energy to pushing back to the wall of the building, "what power," Ash struggle to say as he looked up to see a large white pokemon with a purple tail, "Mewtwo, what are you doing here? And why are you helping Team Rocket?" Ash asked the pokemon while trying to move himself, "answer me Mewtwo what are you doing helping the people you swore revenge against?" Ash asked in increasing anger while watching the princess being dragged away.

Mewtwo lifted its arm to show a powerful device, "if I don't do as I am told this item will explode," Mewtwo told Ash as it increased the power of his psychic attack, "I am sorry,"Mewtwo said while shedding a tear.

Suddenly a ball of pink energy slammed into Mewtwo breaking his concentration, 'quick go now, save the girl, they are taking her to the Helicopter just outside of the City,' Mewtwo told Ash telepathically.

Ash nodded and ran towards the exit of the city, he looked over to the lights to find Salvia being loaded into the helicopter with her hands bound by rope, "Dragonair, time to battle," Ash said while calling out his dragon type pokemon.

"Houndoom, attack Dragonair with Flamethrower," the rocket demanded as the helicopter started to power up.

"Dragonair attack with Dragon Breath," Ash commanded with confidence. The two pokemon sent out a powerful burst of flames, the two attacks collided but the dragon type was being overpowered due to its lack of experience, "don't give up," Ash told his pokemon with anger as the purple dragon started to glow a pure white, the pokemon grew taller and gained pair of legs, arms and small wings, the evolution stopped and a large green pokemon stood there roaring at the helicopter, "Dragonite, attack with Dragon Claw," Ash commanded with confidence.

The dragon type flew towards the helicopter and slashed it with its powerful claws, the force of the attack knocked the princess out of the flying machine, Ash noticed this and ran towards the princess with his arms extended outwards. Just as Salvia almost hit the ground Ash jumped outwards and saved the royal just in time, Salvia opened her eyes in shock as the trainer collapsed on one knee, "Ash, you saved my life," Salvia said in shock as she rested her head on the trainers chest.

Ash looked down at the royal with anger, "what were doing? Allowing yourself to get captured like that?" Ash asked in anger as the princess looked away in shame.

Salvia stepped on the ground as she sat in front of the trainer, Ash undid the ropes and tried to get back up, but his ankle was in a lot of pain, "Ash, you sprained your ankle," Salvia sod with concern as she turned around to take the shoe off the trainers foot, "I wanted to stop my uncle," Salvia stated with a frown as another explosion ripped through the city.

Ash looked around to see two Shadow Balls colliding into each other, "we don't have the time to argue, we need to stop Mewtwo," Ash said as he slowly limped towards the city with Salvia behind him.

Salvia watched as the trainer collapsed on the ground again, she started to feel guilty, 'he wouldn't have been hurt if I wasn't being so blind,' Salvia thought as she ran up to Ash, she helped him up and placed his arm around her shoulder, "let me help you to the city," Salvia said as she helped Ash while the Ash's Dragonite followed them closely, "Ash, I feel lost," Salvia said while looking over to Ash with a frown.

"Dragonite, you go on ahead and try to stop Mewtwo," Ash commanded his dragon type pokemon. The large dragon flew off towards the massive battle. Ash slowly moved towards the city with Salvia's help, he looked over to the royal and smiled, "you don't need to tackle this problem on your own, this is my problem as well," Ash stated with a smile as he was being helped towards the city, "I don't think Latios showed you the future you've been needing to see, since there are many trials on that road we need to face, I believe that this is one of them," Ash said as he made it to the city with Salvia's help.

James and Jessie recalled the legendary pokemon and pulled away from the battle, Ash looked around to see a demolished city, "Ash, I am sorry," Salvia apologized while bowing her head in shame, "I just don't know where to go anymore," Salvia said with sadness as Misty and Cilan approached them.

Ash looked up and saw his dragon landing next to him, he recalled the large green dragon and looked to the princess, "I will make sure you take the right road," Ash said to the young royal while being helped to the Pokemon Center with his friends at his side and Raichu walking next to him.

Salvia closed her eyes and smiled, "I will not follow the two futures that have been shown to me, I will make my own future," Salvia said with determination as her friends stared at her in amazement, "the one I want is one where I can share the rest of my life with Ash," Salvia confessed as she helped Ash out.

"That's great princess," Ash said with a smile, Salvia moved away from Ash and allowed him to collapse on the ground while feeling the pain of his sprained ankle, "okay I get it, you hate being called by your title, how about I just call you angel instead?" Ash enquired as the young royal knelt down in front of him and smiled for the first time in a week.

"Angel? Better than being called by my title," Salvia replied with a smile as she flicked Ash's nose, "I approve of that nickname," Salvia said as she helped Ash back up, "please help me become a stronger trainer," Salvia said with a smile as she continued to help Ash, "I know we will see Team Rocket and my uncle again, so with your help I will be able to face any challenge set before me," Salvia explained as she gazed over to the trainer.

Ash nodded in approval, "my condition is that you don't ever give up, when things seem like they're going wrong, do whatever it takes to right it," Ash said wisely as he looked at the damaged Pokemon Center.

* * *

**Salvia has now had a glimpse of two possible futures while her dad saw the one she intends to follow, will the pressure of saving her dad get to Salvia? Or will Ash lead the young royal to the correct path?**

**Will Ash and Salvia make it to Whirlpool Island on time? The race against time is about to begin.**

**Next time episode 29: Trouble at the Bellsprout Tower.**

**Yes this part of the story should be more Salvia centered, this one will hopefully see Salvia grow as a person**


	3. Trouble at the Bellsprout Tower

**Episode 29: Trouble at the Bellsprout Tower**

_This chapter will have Salvia facing a challenge without the help of Ash._

* * *

Ash, Salvia, Misty and Cilan were walking up the road towards Violet city when they decided to stop at for a break to have lunch, Ash walked up to a silent princess, "Salvia, you're still pretty quiet," Ash said while pulling out one of his pokeballs, "come on we need to do a bit training," Ash stated while calling out one of his pokemon quietly.

Salvia looked over to Ash and nodded and stood up with her pokeball in hand, "Totodile, it's time to shine," Salvia called out the big jaw pokemon quietly, the water type pokemon glared at the powerful Metagross looking at him, "Totodile attack with Water Gun," Salvia instructed her pokemon nervously, the big jaw pokemon released a jet of water at the much larger pokemon.

Ash smirked at the water type pokemon, "dodge it now, attack with Psychic," Ash instructed his pokemon calmly, the attacking pokemon sent a powerful wave of telekinetic power towards the smaller pokemon, the water pokemon landed on his feet and glared at the steel type pokemon with confidence. "Now hit him with Meteor Mash," Ash told his pokemon calmly.

As the powerful foe approached the big jaw pokemon with a glowing fist, Salvia watched in amazement as her new pokemon barely dodged the attack, "alright Totodile, return the favour with Crunch," Salvia told her pokemon. Salvia's water type launched himself towards the massive pokemon with glowing white fangs, he bit down on the pokemon not dealing much damage, the water type jumped back and awaited the next instruction from his trainer, "alright Totodile attack with Water Gun," the princess told her pokemon to attack yet again with another burst of water directed at the opposing pokemon.

Ash watched as his pokemon took the hit barely taking any damage, he pulled out his pokeball and nodded happily, "well time for a break," Ash said calmly as he recalled his pokemon, "Cilan has almost prepared lunch for us," Ash pointed out as the royal recalled her pokemon, Ash and Salvia started walking over to the table while looking at their X-Transceivers. "I have a lot of work to get you stronger," Ash said with a smile as he looked over to the young royal.

Salvia looked at the ground and started to chuckle a little, "well, I have the incentive to get stronger," she replied while looking away, she stopped walking and looked around the fields with a sad look in her eyes, looking around to see the round brown pokemon with a brown and cream colored tail. "This region is amazing," Salvia told herself silently as she looked up to see Ash in the distance, 'what does our future have in store for us?' Salvia asked herself as she slowly caught up to Ash.

The trainer looked over to Salvia and smiled, "hey quit dawdling, we need to get some food," Ash told the bluenette while laughing at her, Ash placed his hand in his back pack and pulled out a book, Salvia noticed this and quickly ran over to Ash, "well that was fast," Ash said while opening the book.

Salvia looked at the book and smiled, "you're reading one of my books," Salvia replied with great joy, "I thought you hated reading," Salvia said with a smile as she placed her arm around Ash.

Ash chuckled as he started to read the book out loud infront of the princess, "I am willing to do anything to make you happy," Ash retorted as he flipped through to the next page, "plus this book is really interesting, I need to read more of it," Ash said while expressing his interest in the novel that Salvia gave him, the two continued to walk through the fields as Salvia continued to listen to Ash reading the book, "Salvia, do you have any more books by any chance?" Ash asked the royal with a smile.

"Don't stop reading, you're doing extremely well," Salvia complimented Ash as she quickly got back to the point where Ash was reading the book.

After an hours walk Ash and Salvia made it to the table, "well we do need to eat," Ash said happily as he grabbed his plate, his eyes widened to see the vast quantity of food in front of him, he looked over his shoulder to see the princess remain silent and looking at the ground with a grimace, "hey what's the matter?" Ash asked as he grabbed another lot of food and put it on his plate, Salvia jolted her head up and looked up with a fake smile, "come on Salvia, I have been with you long enough to know that smile isn't real," Ash stated as the rest of the group looked on.

Misty looked towards her friends in concern, "you know, after we reach Goldenrod City I will be needing to travel on my own," Misty said while trying to lighten up the mood, she walked up to Saliva and handed her a plate, "come on Salvia, you need to eat something," Misty said as she guided the young royal to the table.

Ash watched the bluenette grab her food; Ash walked away and sat in the grassy fields to watch the many pokemon playing about and resting on the grass and in the trees, while eating his food he heard the footsteps of someone approaching, "hey Salvia," Ash said while not looking, the young royal sat next to him with her plate of food in her hands, Ash closed his eyes and noticed a blue aura around the princess, "you know I haven't said much about my true ability," Ash said with a smirk as the princess continued to eat her food.

"You said you could sense aura and you are an aura guardian," Salvia said while putting her plate down on her lap, "what else don't I know about this ability?" Salvia asked calmly, she watched the trainer fall back on the grass and smiled he turned his gaze to the princess who was still eating her food, she looked to her side to Ash move his hands behind his head, "with aura I can sense things like emotion and read thoughts," Ash explained to the princess who was now listening with intent, "it seems that I have no choice but to rely on this ability to look after you," Ash said with a sigh causing the royal to break out a quick smile.

"I am happy you're so dedicated to the fact you need to look after me," Salvia said with great delight, after finishing her meal she fell back and rested next to Ash, "so I gave you a question a little while ago, do you have an answer?" Salvia asked quietly while turning her head to gaze at the trainer.

While the two were resting on the grass Mew reappeared hovering over them, Ash and Salvia looked up and smiled at the legendary pokemon, "no not yet Salvia, but I feel like I am getting closer to the answer and finding out where this road will take me," Ash stated in response as Mew sat between them, "Mew, surely there are other things you can do," Ash said as the psychic pokemon looked the trainer with a saddened expression, "it's Mewtwo isn't it?" Ash asked the psychic pokemon with a smile.

Mew looked towards the city with its large eyes, "Ash do you think something is happening in the city?" Salvia asked as the psychic pokemon started to lift itself up off the ground, "I mean Mew isn't its playful self," Salvia pointed out as the legendary pokemon started to move towards the city skyline.

"It's Mewtwo," Ash said as he got up quickly and ran towards the city.

Salvia got up and followed Ash into the city leaving her bag and four out of her six pokemon, Misty and Cilan watched and tried to pack up the stuff as quickly as possible, they called for the young royals pokemon to follow her, "Dragonite, we need you to go after Salvia and Ash," Cilan said while looking over to the princess's starter pokemon. The large dragon flew off to the city leaving Misty and Cilan behind to clean up the mess.

Ash and Salvia ran into the city to find the tower near the gym had smoke coming out of it, Ash looked over to see the people panicking as the smell of flames emanated from the tower, Ash looked around before closing his eyes, he moved his head towards the tower, "I can sense there are five people in the tower, also there is a fire on the sixth floor of the building," Ash said while Salvia finally caught up to Ash, she tried to catch her breath.

"What's going on?" Salvia asked the trainer as she placed her hands on her knees to rest up a little, she looked up to see Ash with his eyes closed, 'something must be going on,' Salvia thought as she looked around to find the people running away from the tower.

"It seems like we need to help some people," Ash said while opening his eyes, he started to run towards the tower with Raichu Following him, Ash was then stopped by a powerful explosion as parts of the tower landed ahead of him, "oh man I can't get near the tower," Ash stated only to find Salvia running towards the tower, "Salvia what are you doing?" Ash asked in concern as she made it to the entrance of the building, Ash tried to run to the entrance only to be stopped by a large purple pokemon, "Arbok, Team Rocket must have something to do with this," Ash hissed in frustration as two people walked up and destroyed the entrance to the tower, "wow so now your target is trapped inside on her own," Ash said with great sarcasm as he called for his Raichu to stand in for the battle.

Jessie laughed at the trainer who was standing in front of them, "it matters not, once we deal with you, the princess will be easy pickings," Jessie explained as another member of Team Rocket walked up to his partner while calling out a floating purple pokemon with two heads, "it seems like you're out numbered," Jessie said while laughing at the trainer.

"I have nothing to worry about, because I know Salvia is stronger than you think," Ash said with a confident grin.

Meanwhile in the tower Salvia was bashing on the door but it was no use the door wasn't budging and the smoke was starting to fill the room, "not good, I didn't bring my Dragonite with me," Salvia said while feeling around for her pokeballs, "I only have two of them with me, Latios and Raichu," Salvia told herself. The room started to get darker as parts of the ceiling was falling around her, she looked around to try and find a way out, she spotted the windows of the tower and quickly ran towards them, she placed her hands on the tower and noticed that they were all sealed, "I have no way out, the only way I can get out of here is by climbing to the roof of the tower," Salvia said as she found the stairway to the next floor, she got her backpack and opened it to try and find a cloth to cover her mouth.

Salvia placed the cloth over her mouth and started her journey to the top of the tower, she walked up the stairs slowly while holding onto the guard rail, she felt every step along the way with visibility becoming less and less, "I can barely see where I am going," Salvia told herself. Salvia slowly walked away from the steps only to hear a loud crashing coming from behind, she looked back in shock to find that she was trapped on the second floor.

"Someone please help me!" A voice called out causing Salvia to try and find out where it was coming from, "my leg is caught please!" the person called out while the panic was starting to become more obvious.

"Sounds like a little girl," Salvia stated as she tried to find out where the little girl was, "hold on little girl, I will be there soon, just keep calling so I can find you!" Salvia told the panicking girl, she placed her hands on the wall while listening to the little girls pleas for help.

Salvia finally made it to where the girl was and tried to lift up the piece of wood pinning her leg down, "help my brother as well he is stuck on the next floor," the small girl said while Salvia was trying to pick up the wood.

Salvia tried with all her might but it was far too heavy to lift on her own, she pulled out a pokeball and called out her father's Latios, "use Psychic to remove the beam of wood on her leg," Salvia instructed her father's legendary pokemon, the beam of wood was lifted off the girls leg and hovered over them, "Latios can you use your psychic powers to give us an opening? I will do what I can to rescue the people stuck inside the tower," Salvia said as the mostly blue and grey pokemon.

The large beam struck the wall destroying it on impact, the eon pokemon used it's psychic powers to stop the beam and bring it back into the building so it wouldn't fall on the people, "alright, now is your chance to escape, I will go and help your brother, find your mom and dad," Salvia told the little girl as she helped her on the legendary pokemon, Salvia looked down to see Ash battling two members of Team Rocket and a large dragon type approaching the tower, "Dragonite is coming," Salvia said with a smile as she pulled out her pokeball ready to recall the powerful dragon type pokemon.

The large dragon flew into the opening and landed next to the princess, she recalled the pokemon and proceeded to the next lot of stairs, with the smoke pouring out the opening the visibility was starting to become better but the heat inside the building was starting to build, "judging by what had just recently happened I made the fire worse," Salvia said as she made it to the next flight of steps, she placed her hand on the guard rail and quickly walked up the steps. After climbing up the next lot of stairs on her own she tried to drown out the loud noise emanating from the next floor, a loud creaking was heard as parts of the floor started to fall in separate areas of the next floor, "there is a boy holding on for his life," Salvia said as she made her way to the boys location.

"Someone help me, I don't want to fall!" the boy cried out as Salvia grabbed his hand, she helped him from the hole and called for her legendary in hopes that it was around, "my sister was on the previous floor, I promised my parents that nothing would happen to her," he said while trying to dry out his tears.

"She is fine, she will be with your parents soon," Salvia said with assurance she called out her Dragonite, the dragon picked up the boy and carried him out of the building, while waiting for the powerful dragon type pokemon to return to the princess parts of the floor started to give way as some of the flames spread to the floor, "not good," Salvia decreed as he eyes widened in panic, she moved quickly and avoided falling onto the lower floor of the flaming tower, she ran to the next flight of steps as more of the floor gave way, she ran up the flight of steps and on to the next floor. Salvia looked around to see the crimson flames engulfing the floor; she heard the cries of a couple of people trapped behind the wall, "tell me where you are!" Salvia yelled out as the noise of the flames drowned out her soft voice. 'If only I had a water type pokemon,' Salvia thought as she began to sweat from the heat of the flames.

While Salvia was rescuing the people trapped inside the tower Ash was holding his own against the members of Team Rocket, he was being pushed back when a large white pokemon with a long purple tail appeared near the members of Team Rocket, "you have no chance against us," James said with a dark smirk.

The powerful psychic pokemon floated towards the trainer while he was walking backwards until his back was pressing on a tree, he felt the bark digging into his back but his view wasn't wavering from the legendary baring down on him, "Raichu is hurt and my pokemon are not strong enough to face Team Rocket and Mewtwo," Ash said as he clenched his fists and feeling rage building up inside of him, 'Salvia, I hope you're alright,' Ash wondered as he looked up to see the smoke emanating from the third floor of the tower, "what should I do?!" Ash yelled out while being hit by a powerful psychic attack.

Ash was lifted off the ground and started to get pinned onto the tree, suddenly a powerful wave of fire appeared from out of nowhere, a streak of flames came from outside the city and landed in front of him and breaking the concentration of Mewtwo, the white stone started to pulse as the other legendary pokemon jumped back to prevent from getting hit by the fire pulse, 'what is this?' Mewtwo asked the trainer telepathically. After Mewtwo asked the question a large pillar of flames jumped out of the stone and a large white pokemon with a large turbine like tail appeared standing between the trainer and Mewtwo, 'is that Reshiram?' Mewtwo asked as the large dragon roared out loud sending out a burst of flames outwards.

The flames slammed into the psychic type pokemon breaking the device on his arm, "Mewtwo is free," Ash said with a smirk as the legendary pokemon fell back from the force of the attack, Ash looked up in concern as the legendary pokemon standing infront of him, the aura of the large white pokemon was immense causing him to shudder in slight fear, "Reshiram, it's so nice to meet you," Ash said as the legendary pokemon fell back into the white stone, "what I thought I had awoken it," Ash said with slight dismay. Ash picked himself up and tried to walk over to the back to the battle and prevent Team Rocket from getting Salvia, "stop right there fools, you will not get the princess," Ash declared while holding grasping his left side with his right hand.

"Come on, you aren't in any position to fight us and to save your girlfriend," Jessie said with a smirk as she called out another poison type pokemon to hold Ash back, "you aren't aware of our plans for The Lake of Rage, but you will not be able to stop us," Jessie said with a chuckle as she clicked her fingers to signal an attack.

Ash watched the pokemon get closer with the tail glowing purple, Ash closed his eyes and waited for the attack to hit him, he opened his right eye to see the pokemon hovering infront of him, "what's going on?" Ash asked before opening his other eye, Seviper flew back towards the members of Team Rocket, Ash looked over his shoulder to see an injured Mewtwo trying to stand up, while tending to Mewtwo a small pink pokemon appeared next to the trainer to help Mewtwo, "Mew, help Mewtwo out, I will finish this battle," Ash told the legendary pokemon calmly as he pulled out his pokeball ready to battle the , he glared at the members of Team Rocket and looked around to see more people with a black uniform and a red 'R' on their jumper, "well I see you can't battle me on your own," Ash said with a smirk as he looked away in submission.

"You still don't stand a chance, the only chance you had was with the large white pokemon that helped you save Mewtwo," Jessie stated with a smirk as the members of Team Rocket called out a pokemon each, "your Raichu is injured, the powerful pokemon is back in that stone and, Mewtwo is off somewhere to recover with Mew's help," Jessie pointed out as she got ready to attack with the other members of Team Rocket.

"Metagross I choose you," Ash called out for his powerful pokemon, a large blue pokemon landed infront of Ash and held off all the poison attacks coming towards the trainer, "might not be my strongest pokemon, but it will be enough to fight you all off," Ash declared before collapsing on the ground from the pain of the battle, he looked up and winced in pain while trying to get back up on his two feet, 'Salvia, please be alright.'

Meanwhile in the burning Tower Salvia had removed her vest and continued to move on in the tower looking for a way to help the last of the people out, she started to pant out of sheer exhaustion but was willing herself to keep going, "I will not give up," Salvia decreed before collapsing on the ground. She looked around with the powerful flames lighting up the room, she willed herself up and walked ahead to find the people snuggled into a corner, she walked over to them only to find them not responding, "hey are you okay?" Salvia asked them but they still didn't reply, it was then she noticed that she reached them too late seeing one of them fall to the ground, "no this can't be," Salvia said as she fell to the ground with tears rolling down her face.

It was then she noticed parts of the ceiling crumbling down on her, she turned around and started running towards the next lot of stairs to make her escape, she ran up the stairs with tears still flowing down her face, 'I failed them,' Salvia thought while she continue to run up the steps, she made it up to the final floor and collapsed on the ground, she looked up to see a man waiting for her, "who are you?" Salvia asked the man.

"Well, little royal," he said while turning around to show himself, "I am Giovanni of Team Rocket, you will be coming with me, Rhyperior time to battle," He called out a mostly brownish-gray color with a club tail, a large drill and orange rocky plates, "I came here because I knew Mewtwo would be released, that pokemon was useless anyway, no emotion just a lonely pokemon, but you have a connection to a pokemon that I want," Giovanni stated as he began to laugh at the young royal.

Salvia glared at the Rocket boss as she started to step back in fear, "you want Mew," Salvia stated in shock as she continued to step back, "Raichu, it's time to shine," Salvia called out her pokemon in panic.

The rocket boss looked at the small electric pokemon and started to laugh at the princess, "You're serious right? An electric type has no chance against a ground type."

Salvia gulped as she got ready to face the rocket boss on her own, "I will not be captured," Salvia decreed as the ground type pokemon got ready to launch the attack, "this pokemon is slow, I need to use superior speed to beat this thing," Salvia told herself as parts of the ground fell beneath the weight of the ground type pokemon, "Raichu, counter with Iron Tail," Salvia instructed her mostly brown pokemon, the electric type charged towards the rock type pokemon with a stiff tail.

"Rock Wrecker," Giovanni called for his attack, the powerful pokemon formed a large boulder in his hand and fired it with incredible force, "you are out matched little girl," Giovanni gloated while laughing at the bluenette, she glared at him for a moment while the large rock slammed into the electric mouse pokemon knocking it back towards the princess, "you have determination, but you will need more than that to beat me," Giovanni stated while the girl attended to her pokemon.

She looked back up and angrily looked at her foe, "you set fire to this place, people were hurt and two didn't make it out alive," Salvia told the rocket boss as she looked around to find a way out of the tower, she spotted a small hole where she could make her escape, she grabbed her pokemon and ran towards the escape point and placed her pokemon on the ground, she pulled out her pokeball and recalled her injured pokemon, she looked around to see if any of her dragon pokemon were flying around, "Latios, Dragonite I need your help!" Salvia yelled out in panic, she looked over her shoulder to see the Team Rocket boss approaching her.

"What's the matter little girl?" Giovanni asked as he reached out to try and grabbed the royal's arm, "there is no escape for you," he said while recalling his pokemon, he pulled out another pokeball and called out another of his pokemon, "Pidgeot, time to get out of here," he called out his pokemon while getting closer to taking the princess's arm.

Salvia looked down with fear and decided to jump off the tower on her own, she closed her eyes as she continued to fall, but as she got closer she landed on a mostly yellow pokemon with powerful wings, she opened her eyes in shock and looked at her Dragonite, "Dragonite, thank you, please take me to Ash," Salvia told her pokemon with a concerned look on her face. The powerful dragon type pokemon flew towards the ground, Salvia looked down to see Ash kneeling on the ground; she jumped off her pokemon, "Ash!" Salvia called out for the trainer who was panting from exhaustion.

Ash got up slowly allowing Salvia to jump into his arms, "Salvia, are you alright?" Ash asked as the princess started to cry. The trainer looked up and spotted his friends approaching him and the princess, this forced the members of Team Rocket to retreat, "monsters," Ash hissed in heavy irritation, suddenly a loud rumble was heard and the tower collapsed infront of the group, "no the Bellsprout Tower," Ash said in shock while holding onto the bluenette who was still crying.

Salvia started hitting Ash with her fists and continued to cry, "I failed two people Ash," Salvia cried as she thumped the trainer's chest and grabbing his jacket, "two people didn't make it out alive," Salvia cried as the trainer held her in closely.

Ash petted the princess hair as she continued to weep in sorrow, "Salvia, what about the other three?" Ash asked while trying to comfort the royal.

"Two were young children, I got them out in time the other was Team Rocket's boss," Salvia replied while pressing her head into the trainer's chest.

Ash looked over to his friends and frowned, "we are heading to The Lake of Rage," Ash said while the princess's pokemon walked up to the couple, Ash looked down at the princess as he hugged her with all his might.

"Excuse me, is that the girl who rescued our children?" a man asked the trainer with a smile.

Ash looked at the crying princess and nodded, "that's good to see her come out alive, we really wanted to thank her for saving our children," the woman said as her husband carried the daughter away from the scene.

The little girl jumped out of her father's arms and limped towards the princess, "thank you for saving me, here is a small gift," the little girl said a she showed the princess a plush toy shaped like a Teddiursa, "please take this as a thank you," she said with a smile.

Salvia took the plush toy and looked at it for a moment, "I don't deserve a reward, I failed two people," Salvia cried as she pushed the toy back into the little girls hands.

"But you saved me and my brother, please take this toy," the girl said with a smile, "My name is Hope, what is yours?" the little girl asked with a smile while introducing herself.

"I am Princess Salvia," the bluenette introduced herself with a smile.

"Wow a real life princess, you're my hero you know?" the girl declared happily as limped back to her parents.

Salvia looked at the plush toy and let out a submissive smile, 'the pressure of saving people is great, what if I can't save Ash?' Salvia thought as she looked over to Ash.

* * *

**I hope you all liked this episode.**

**What will happen at The Lake of Rage? Will Salvia recover from the events in Violet City? **

**Next time Episode 30: Red Rage**


	4. Red Rage

**Episode 30: Red Rage.**

_A new road will be taken in the Johto Region but where will it lead them? This episode takes place two days after the previous episode._

* * *

Ash and Salvia stood at their respective ends of the battlefield with Misty and Cilan watching the battle unfold. The two nodded and got ready to call out their pokemon for the battle, "Metagross, I choose you," Ash called for his pokemon in great excitement. Ash waited for the princess to call out her pokemon, "come on Salvia, this is the perfect time to help you get stronger," Ash stated with a smirk while his large blue pokemon stood there waiting with great anticipation for its opponent.

Salvia pulled out her pokeball and threw it out, "Tyranitar, it's time to shine," Salvia called out her large green pokemon, Tyranitar let out an intimdating roar as it looked over to the powerful opponent.

Meanwhile as Ash and Salvia were preparing to battle one another Mew sat on the roof of the Pokemon Center to watch the princess battle Ash, it looked around to see Misty and Cilan watching with eagerness as the two powerful opponents charged at one another with great force, "Salvia has improved since she started training with Ash," Misty said while watching the two pokemon slam into eachother, the two pokemon fell back from the force of the devastating attack, "she was so unsure of battling when we first met her and now she is far more confident than ever," Misty pointed out as the battle raged on infront of her.

"Tyranitar, attack with Stone Edge," Salvia instructed the armour pokemon with confidence. The large green pokemon became surrounded with powerful stones before flinging them towards the massive psychic pokemon unmercifully.

"Metagross, counter with Bullet Punch," Ash commanded his pokemon calmly, the large four legged pokemon, Metagross charged towards the incoming stones and started punching them out of the way before hitting the rock type with a burst of highly powerful blows from the steel type pokemon, "now finish it off with Meteor Mash," Ash continued the flurry of attacks against the opposing pokemon.

"Not this time, Tyranitar attack with Earthquake," Salvia instructed her massive pokemon. The armour pokemon slammed its left foot into the ground sending a powerful shockwave towards the incoming Metagross, the shockwave smashed into the steel type knocking it back towards Ash, the trainer jumped out of the way to prevent the. The giant blue pokemon tried to get up but was slow to do so, "alrighhit it with Dark Pulse," Salvia ordered her large green pokemon.

The iron leg pokemon tried to get up but was hit by a powerful beam of darkness knocking it out of the battle, "nicely done Salvia," Ash complimented his girlfriend with a smile as he clapped his hands in a congratulatory manner, he walked up to his fallen pokemon and gave it some pokemon food, "you did well Metagross," Ash told his pokemon while recalling it to its pokeball, he walked up to the princess happily and shook her hand, "you are getting better Salvia," Ash told the bluenette happily as he shook her hand.

Salvia happily grinned at the trainer turned around to walk to the Mahogany Town Pokemon Center, "thanks for the battle Ash," Salvia said with a smile while leaving the group to themselves, 'I need to find a present for Ash, his birthday will be coming soon,' she thought to herself a she looked over her shoulder to see the trainer talking to his friends, she opened the door to the medical facility and walked through the main foyer to get to the front desk.

Ash walked into the building and stood next to the young royal, "what's the matter? You are very quiet," Ash enquired with a smile while placing his hand on the princess's left hand.

"Ash, I still feel bad about what happened at the Bellsprout Tower two days ago," Salvia replied with a frown as she tightened her grip on Ash's hand, she looked to the ground and started to cry, "I tried everything to rescue those people, but it wasn't enough, what if I can't rescue the people I love the most? What if I can't save you?" Salvia asked the trainer while closing her eyes as the pictures of what happened in Violet City flowed through her mind.

'She is so gentle and caring, the most devastating events have hurt her the most,' Ash thought as he placed his left hand on Salvia's cheeks, he wiped away the tears flowing from her eyes, "but you still saved two children, they consider you their hero," Ash tried to comfort the royal as he placed his arm around the princess, he pulled her in for a tender embrace, "sadly Salvia, there are times when we can only save a few people while we can do nothing to save the other people," Ash said while petting his girlfriend's back, "Salvia, I want to ask you something, if you come to a situation where you need to rescue either me or a small family, who would you save?" Ash asked the royal calmly as they waited for their pokemon.

Salvia opened her eyes and looked up to see Ash with a serious expression on his face, "I would save you," Salvia replied with tears still flowing down her face.

"But Salvia, what about the family?" Ash asked while clearing up the final tears, "I can take care of myself if I ever need rescuing, I want you to save the family if that is the case," Ash explained with a smile before pressing his lips on the girl's forehead. Ash pulled away with a grin and hushed the princess before she could say a word, "but for me, I would do everything to save you and the family, because I have learnt one thing Salvia," Ash pointed out as he turned around.

The princess looked on in shock as her love walked to a table in the medical facility, "what have you learnt Ash?" Salvia asked the trainer causing him to stop, Ash turned around and looked over his left shoulder with a proud smile, "Ash, please tell me, do you finally have the answer to my question?" Salvia asked as she walked slowly up to Ash.

Ash nodded with great pride, "yes Salvia, I have chosen what it is I desire," Ash professed happily as the bluenette walked up to him, "when this journey is over, I intend to….." Ash started before a loud rumble pulsed through the air causing the ground to shake causing Ash and Salvia to hit the ground, "oh man when I was about to answer the question this had to happen," Ash complained as he looked over to Salvia who was on the ground next to Ash, "you okay Salvia?" Ash asked the royal with a smirk, Salvia looked over to Ash and nodded quietly.

The two got up and tried to push themselves through the panicking masses, the people continued to scream as another loud rumble was heard this time it was even louder, "Ash, where is it coming from?" Salvia asked while trying to get through the crowd.

After getting through the panicking crowd, Ash and Salvia finally made it to the exit of the building, the couple looked around for Misty and Cilan to find them approaching them from the lake, "Ash, Salvia, we found out where the rumbles are coming from," Misty stated in fear, Raichu walked up to Ash in shock as a loud roar, "Ash there is a new Red Gyrados at the Lake of Rage," Misty explained as the pokemon bellowed again.

Ash looked around to see his friends shaking in fear, "we have dealt with this before," Ash said calmly before heading off towards the, the group ran over to the town exit and towards the Lake of Rage. The pokemon of the lake continued to let out a loud roar while causing Salvia to block her ears in fear, Ash ran towards the princess and tried to comfort her, "come on, we need to stop Team Rocket," Ash told the bluenette calmly as he lead her and his friends towards the lake in hopes to find out what was going on.

Meanwhile at the Lake of Rage Giovanni was gazing at the pokemon coming out of the lake, "increase the frequency, I want plenty of Gyrados for my new army," he said with a smirk as a scientist turned the volume up on the radio dish, the rocket boss watched as more large blue serpentine pokemon jumped out of the lake.

The phone started to ring loudly, Giovanni picked up the phone to listen to the reports of one of his trusted people. "Sir, we have found the shrine in Ilex Forest, also Pierce has found the statues of the two legendary beasts," Zager reported on his end of the call.

Giovanni smirked at the news and clicked his fingers, "good, everything is going according to plan, very soon we will be the masters of the world, now we just need one more ingredient," he said while turning to Jessie, James and Meowth, "Team Rocket begin the capturing of the Gyrados, you three head off to find the princess," Giovanni instructed his part of the forces, "Zager, I want you to keep an eye on the Ilex Forest Shrine, tell Pierce to hold his ground until I get back to him," Giovanni ordered while multiple Gyrados were captured in front of him.

Jessie, James and Meowth walked off to find the princess in order to capture her; "Jellicent, I want you to find the princess and bring her here," Jessie ordered her pokemon calmly, a large pink pokemon appeared in front of the rocket trio as they walked quietly through the forest.

Ash, Salvia, Misty, Cilan and Raichu were walking through the forest as the loud roars of the pokemon were getting quieter, "Ash, something isn't right," Misty stated with a frown as a large pink pokemon appeared in front of them blocking the path towards the lake, "what is that pokemon?" Misty asked her friend in shock as it used a water attack to separate them, Ash and Salvia jumped in separate directions while Misty and Cilan jumped back, "that's a water type pokemon," Misty stated with a frown while pulling out her pokeball to start a battle, "the rest of you go on ahead," Misty instructed her friends.

The group tried to run pass the ghost type pokemon but was stopped by another attack, "Weezing attack with Sludge Bomb," a male voice called out for the second wave of attacks, a large ball of sludge was fired into the ground before exploding in front of the remaining trio, "hand over the princess," said a man with short blue hair.

Ash stepped in front of the princess to prevent her from getting captured, "not a chance, you will have to kill me first," Ash said with determination as Cilan pulled out his pokeball ready for the battle, "Cilan, what are you doing?" Ash asked his friend nervously as he called out a brown pokemon with a yellow tail and fins.

"Stunfisk, attack with Discharge," Cilan called out for the counter attack, "you two go on ahead, I will hold them back as long as possible," Cilan told Ash quickly while keeping his focus on the battle.

Ash grabbed Salvia's left hand and started running towards the lakes edge, "Ash, what about our friends?" Salvia asked as she tried to stop Ash from running but it was no use, she wasn't strong enough to pull Ash back, she decided to run with the trainer to find that a group of Gyrados were being capture, "what's going on Ash?" Salvia asked in amazement as the roars of the pokemon continued for some time. The duo watched as a powerful Hyper Beam was fired towards them, Ash moved quickly and pushed the princess out of the way, Ash landed awkwardly on his arm causing him to cry out in pain, Salvia jolted up and looked over to Ash who was grasping his right arm screaming out in pain, "Ash, you're hurt," Salvia said in shock as she crawled over to Ash.

Ash placed his left hand on the ground to push himself off the ground, "I heard a crack, I think my arm is broken," Ash said in pain as tears rolled down his face, he winced in pain trying to move his arm, "Salvia, go into my back and look for a bandage, with that I need you to create a sling to hold my arm up," Ash instructed the bluenette. Salvia opened the trainer's bag to find the bandage she needed to help Ash with his arm, "have you found it yet?" Ash asked the girl while trying to keep calm.

Salvia finally pulled out the bandage and gulped for a moment, 'he has put himself in so much danger for me, I could never find a way to thank him for it,' Salvia thought as she walked up to Ash and lifted his broken arm, Ash held his arm up to allow the princess to create the sling to hold his arm in place, 'he has taught me so much already, yet, I feel like I am so helpless, so useless,' Salvia thought as she finished wrapping his arm up, she tied a knot at the back of Ash's neck and stood up, 'yet I am helping him now,' Salvia thought as she looked away in shame.

Ash got up slowly and placed his left hand on Salvia's shoulder, "you seem upset, you helped me out so many times already," Ash said as he looked to see a powerful red Gyrados approaching them from the lake center, "not again," Ash complained as the pokemon reared its head back to prepare for the attack.

"Dragonite, it's time to shine," Salvia called out her dragon pokemon with anger, the large pokemon charged towards the powerful water type pokemon while defending the duo from the attack, "no more! No more hiding behind Ash, no more standing in the background as people get hurt, Gyrados I will capture you!" Salvia declared with her eyes fixated on the atrocious pokemon causing Ash to look on with pride, "Dragonite, attack with Dragon Pulse!" Salvia yelled out with great strength.

A large ball of energy appeared above the large dragon's mouth before firing it into the large red pokemon, Ash watched with pride as another two people from Team Rocket appeared behind them, "Salvia, I will battle Team Rocket," Ash told his girlfriend with a proud smile, he turned around and glared at the rockets approaching them, "Salvia, thanks for being here with me," Ash told the bluenette as the explosive attack landed on the water type pokemon with incredible force, "Raichu, use Volt Tackle," Ash instructed his pokemon calmly.

Raichu leapt towards the members of Team Rocket with a thunderous aura while running towards the rockets at full speed, "that Gyrados is the property of Team Rocket, we missed out six years ago, we will not miss out on our second chance," the member of Team Rocket on the right declared as they called out two pokemon to battle Ash, "our boss has a plan, you and the princess cannot be allowed to get in our way," he said in anger as they got ready to attack the injured trainer.

"Metagross, I choose you," Ash called for his mighty blue pokemon to take to the battlefield, the trainer glared at the members of Team Rocket and got ready to face them in battle, "you will need to drag me away kicking and screaming," Ash told the rockets with a smirk as he clenched his left fist and started laughing at the rockets getting ready to face him in battle, "but you will need to beat me in battle first," Ash declared with a sneer causing the rocket members to start losing their temper while Ash stood there confidently.

Salvia continued to battle the giant pokemon with her powerful dragon type pokemon, "Dragonite, attack with Thunderbolt," Salvia instructed her pokemon with great confidence. The dragon type unleashed a powerful current of electricity directed at the atrocious pokemon hitting it with devastating power, the large red pokemon fell onto the water after taking the critical hit, Salvia prepared her pokeball ready to capture the powerful water type pokemon while sparks of lightning jumped from the pokemon's body.

Salvia threw the pokeball at the injured water type, the device hit the pokemon on the head causing it to open up to trap the red pokemon inside the red and white device, Salvia watched as the pokeball wobbled from side to side in mid-air, until it signified the capture for Salvia, she ran up to the lake to grab the pokeball but was stopped by a hidden trap, "what a trap?" Salvia asked a man looked down at her, "Giovanni, what are you doing here?" Salvia asked the rocket boss in anger as the man with short black hair walked up to the captured pokemon.

"I would like to thank you for your help," he said while bursting out into laughter, he picked up the pokeball but it disappeared in a bright white light, "what happened?" Giovanni asked as the bluenette laughed at the rocket boss, "tell me what happened and I will spare your boyfriend!" Giovanni demanded in a blind rage.

Salvia looked up and smirked at the rocket boss, "I already have six pokemon with me, that pokemon has been sent somewhere," Salvia told him while with confidence, "where to I will never tell you," Salvia told the head of Team Rocket.

"My plan was foiled by a naïve little girl," Giovanni growled in frustration as he looked up to see the trainer battling two of his best, "let's see if you can save the one you love, since you failed to save two complete strangers at the Bellsprout Tower," Giovanni taunted the royal as she looked on in shock, "Nidoking attack with Earthquake," Giovanni ordered his large purple pokemon much to Salvia's fear, "you can't do anything now little girl," he decreed while looking down at her as the ground began to shake around her and the dirt was falling around her, "I would say you have ten minutes before you're buried alive," Giovanni told the bluenette while laughing at her.

As more dirt began to fill up the trap Mew appeared in front of the princess and sat on the princess' head, "Mew, get out of here now," Salvia demanded before she was teleported out of the trap, she looked over to the legendary pokemon with a smile, "Mew, thank you for helping me, how about we team up to save Ash," Salvia questioned the pokemon as she walked over to the boss of Team Rocket, "Mew attack Nidoking with Psychic," Salvia instructed the small pink pokemon with vigor.

The new species pokemon became surrounded in a light blue aura sending out a powerful wave of psychic energy towards the drill pokemon, the ground type pokemon hit the ground after the attack came from behind, the rocket boss looked over his shoulder to find the trapped girl standing behind him ready to attack again, "how did you escape little girl?" he asked with his fists clenched in rage, before the small pink pokemon dropped down to reveal itself to the rocket boss, "Mew," he hissed before spitting on the ground.

"You leave Ash Ketchum alone, I might have failed two people in the past, but I will most certainly not lose Ash! Mew attack with Aura Sphere," Salvia explained as she attack the members of Team Rocket, Mew sent out three spheres of blue energy towards the opposing pokemon, the spheres flew towards the opposing pokemon that had surrounded the trainer, the blue orbs smashed into the pokemon knocking them away from the trainer, she looked over her shoulder to see a man holding a device and using the switches to make the frequency louder, "Mew, stop that person with Psychic," Salvia instructed the new species pokemon with her fists clenched.

The color of Mew's eyes changed to a bright blue as the man controlling the device became surrounded in a powerful blue aura, the machine in his hands collapsed in on itself stopping the sound from angering the pokemon, "she is ruining my plans, stop her now," Giovanni ordered the members of Team Rocket.

Salvia looked around in shock as six more members of Team Rocket stood in every direction, calling out their pokemon, Ash tried to run to the princess bit was stopped by the Rocket boss with his Rhyperior, "get out of my way!" Ash demanded as the bluenette tried to battle her way through the forces of Team Rocket, 'this is horrible, if my arm wasn't broken,' Ash thought with frustration, "Metagross attack Rhyperior with Meteor Mash," Ash commanded with anger.

"Fissure now," Giovanni ordered to counter the trainers attack, Rhyperior stomped the ground unleashing a powerful wave headed straight for the iron leg pokemon, the wave smashed into the steel type knocking it out with a single shot, "you stand no chance against the new and improved Team Rocket," Giovanni told Ash with a dark grin before a powerful burst of cold air struck the pokemon, "that was sheer cold, who did that? Show yourself," Giovanni demanded in anger as a woman with long waist length black hair wearing a white blouse and a red dress appeared from the trees, "so someone else wants to interfere with Team Rocket," Giovanni hissed in fury, he recalled his fallen pokemon and pulled out another pokeball to face this new challenger.

"You don't stand a chance against me, I am the ice pokemon master Sally," she said coldly as a large bearlike pokemon with white fur walked out from behind the tree, "you angered my poor little beartic, now you're going to pay," she said while glaring at the members of Team Rocket, she looked over to the injured trainer and the royal with a smile and nodded at them, "I helped two others just a little while ago, one with short orange hair and the other with green hair," Sally said calmly as her ice type pokemon let out a furious roar, "are you two alright?" Sally asked the two calmly while her powerful ice type punched the rocket leaders pokemon with an icy fist, "come on you like out numbering your foes, so try with me," she challenged Team Rocket while clenching her fists as the members of Team Rocket started to quake in fear.

Salvia walked over to the injured trainer as Sally fought off every member on her own, "she is tough Ash, are you sure you can beat her in a masters battle?" Salvia enquired with a gulp.

"Team Rocket we have done what we needed to do, time to retreat," Giovanni declared calmly as they threw down smoke bombs to cover their retreat, "when next we meet, I will have the power of a legendary pokemon," Giovanni declared with a smirk before disappearing in the smoke.

Sally walked up to the two trainers with a warm smile, "nice to meet you both, I am Sally the master of ice type pokemon," Sally introduced herself warmly while extending her hand.

"I am Ash Ketchum and I challenge you to a masters battle," Ash introduced himself and challenged the ice master coolly.

"I am Princess Salvia of the Sinnoh Kingdom," the bluenette bowed her head in respect.

"I saw parts of your battle, you have a lot of courage princess," Sally pointed out as she looked over to see Ash's arm in a sling, "I also witnessed you selfless act, but sadly for you, I don't battle people who have suffered an injury, I would much rather face people at their full fitness," Sally said with a frown much to the sadness of the trainer in front of her, "sorry Ash but I have a sense of decency pass down by my grandfather who was also the gym leader of Mahogany Town, I am also the gym leader of the town as well," Sally said happily as she walked away from the two trainers.

Salvia stood up and looked down at Ash, "I will battle in his place," Salvia declared with determination much to the surprise of her boyfriend and the ice master, "well is there a rule against someone battling in someone else's place?" Salvia asked quickly as the ice master turned around with a smirk.

"I admire your courage," Sally said with a smile while looking down at the injured trainer, 'anything for him I believe, plus it would make her stronger,' Sally thought as she turned her gaze back to the young royal, "alright you can battle in his place, in a best four out of six battle," Sally decreed with a smile as she walked away calmly.

"What are you doing Salvia? This battle is my only," Ash enquired while wincing in pain.

Salvia knelt down and looked into the trainers eyes, "trust me Ash," Salvia said sweetly as she helped him up to take him back into town, "this battle isn't only for you, but for me as well," Salvia pointed out while placing the trainers right arm around her shoulder.

_At Whirlpool Island_

"So Team Rocket have succeeded at the Lake of Rage," Chris said with a smirk as he walked through the halls of his prison, he flipped over the pages of his report and smirked darkly, "they have built a sizable force of Gyrados, make sure to keep an eye on Giovanni," Chris instructed his spy with a frown.

He opened the door to see his prisoners still sitting in their cells, "your son has been injured, from what I believe he has a broken," Chris told the trainers mother coldly as he turned his gaze to the king, "while saving your daughter," he said in laughter causing the king to spit in his face, "that wasn't very brotherly," he said before punching the king in the gut forcing him to the ground gasping for air, "you two will be the fuel to the fire," Chris said while turning around, he looked over to the brunette who glared at the kings brother, "you know something, you're kind of cute when you are angry," he said with a smirk before walking out of the dungeon. He looked over to his guard and nodded, "make sure they still have food, I don't want those two to have any excuses," Chris told the guard calmly before walking away.

"Sir, we have what you've been requesting for, we captured a powerful pokemon that can induce sleep, the legendary Darkrai," one of Chris' men declared while handing over the pokeball to the king's brother.

"Excellent, now the next part of my plans can start," he said while grasping the pokeball while laughing evilly as the dark clouds started to build, "let my friend Ghetsis know, that he can begin operations in the Unova Region," Chris instructed his informer calmly, "bring Colin to me, I want to give Darkrai a test run," Chris declared as one of the guards ran off to retrieve the royal guard, 'time for you to betray your own king,' Chris thought as he burst out into a menacing laugh.

* * *

**Salvia will face her next challenge, this time taking Ash's place in the Master's Challenge, Chris is now in possession of one of the most powerful pokemon in exsistance and plans to turn the royal guard Colin against the King as part of his experiment.**

**Will Salvia with the Freeze Pin? And what about the legendary pokemon of the Johto region? **

**Next time: Episode 31: Salvia's freezing challenge.**

**I am planning on having the Master's challenge battles done quickly in this part of the story, maybe in the next 6-7 episodes with Salvia facing possibly two Pin Masters.**

**I have also written up the final episode of this series, one that will hopefully produce a sting in the story**


	5. Salvia's Freezing Challenge

**Epsiode 31: Salvia's freezing challenge.**

_This one took longer than I expected but I still think it will work out nicely. Please enjoy and review afterwards. There was a nice break during our nasty heat wave so I took the chance to type this episode._

* * *

Ash was sitting in the surgery of the Mahogany Town Hospital waiting for the report on his broken arm, he knew it was his duty to protect the princess but knew that injury was a part of the job, he was the only one in the room while Misty, Cilan, Raichu and Salvia were waiting in the waiting room for Ash to emerge from the doctors room, "seems like young man you only suffered a minor break, we have to put in a cast and you should recover in just over a month," the doctor told the trainer as he breathed a sigh of relief in the news, "but I should recommend that you do nothing reckless for at least two months," the doctor decreed with a frown much to the trainers dismay.

'Great now how will I protect the princess?' Ash thought as he sat there with the cast, "alright, so what about my battle against the pin master?" Ash asked the doctor with a hopeful smile.

The doctor looked at the trainer and shook his head, "so young man, but I am afraid you will have to sit out of the battles for now," the doctor retorted much to the trainers sadness.

Meanwhile Salvia sat in the room with her friends and Ash's Raichu sitting next to her, "this is my fault, Ash wouldn't have gotten hurt if I wasn't doubting myself," Salvia stated while her friends looked at her with sadness, "if I wasn't so weak Ash wouldn't have gotten hurt during that battle," Salvia said while Raichu looked at her with a smile.

"Salvia, Ash knew that keeping you safe is and will always be important," Misty told the young royal as she looked towards the doctors room Ash was in, "yes he can be a little reckless, but he does that for everyone else's good," Misty said while smiling at herself proudly while remembering the times Ash saved her during her journeys with the trainer, she remembered the day he stole her bike to save a then injured Pikachu, "Salvia, there will come a time when you will be the one who looks after Ash," Misty said while walking back to her seat to wait for Ash.

Ash emerged from the room with his arm in a cast, he looked over to group before seeing Salvia run up to him to wrap her arms around him, she cried as she pushed her head in his chest, "I am sorry Ash, for getting you hurt," Salvia cried while the trainer used his only arm to pet the princess's long blue hair, "if only I was stronger," Salvia decreed while the trainer smiled at her.

"I will be fine, I have been hurt worse than this, but thank you for your concern," Ash said appreciatively. The trainer looked up to the rest of his friends, "it seems like my injury wasn't all that bad, it is only a minor break," Ash stated allowing the princess to breathe a sigh of relief, "come on Salvia, we need you to get ready for that battle of yours I am very interested in seeing how much you have improved," Ash stated while looking into the innocent eyes of the bluenette as she smiled at him, "I am certain you want to borrow a couple of my pokemon," Ash said but the princess shook her head in reply.

"No my prince, I want to battle using only my pokemon," Salvia decreed while smiling at the trainer. Ash turned his gaze back to his friends and nodded, "plus I want to see how much I have improved," Salvia stated while moving back to stand in front of Ash.

"Ash, you need to stop this, Salvia doesn't have the experience to face such a foe," Cilan said with concern in his voice, he looked over to his friends who were just as concerned as him, "she needs more experience in battle, yes her pokemon are a perfect match, but she needs more than that to beat a pin master," Cilan stated angrily as crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Sorry Cilan, but I believe Salvia needs this battle, I think she can win this battle," Ash replied to his friends concerns before walking out of the hospital leaving his friends in shock, "you know Raichu I never expected Salvia to want to take part in this battle," Ash told his partner pokemon as memories of the previous pin battles flowed through his mind, "when you evolved by accident I was in too much shock to do anything, because I knew there was little I could do," Ash professed with sadness before looking back to see Misty and Cilan talking, he noticed Salvia approaching him quietly, "Salvia, are you nervous about your battle?" Ash asked the royal quietly.

Salvia nodded and walked in front of Ash, she looked up to the sky, "yes Ash, I am nervous, I have been waiting for a chance to prove how much I have improved, to prove that I am strong enough to face any challenge on my own," Salvia explained in response to Ash's query as she turned around to have Ash in her sights, "I want to impress you Ash," Salvia expressed her desire to Ash as she walked up to him.

Ash lowered his head and chuckled at Salvia's words, "well at least you're confident about what you want to do," Ash said as he looked over to his friends, "I want you to prove those two wrong, they are concerned that you will lose easily," Ash stated while walking towards the other end of the two with Salvia holding his left hand.

The two walked quietly with Raichu walking behind them, "Ash, after our journey together what would you like to do?" Salvia asked with happily as she walked next to Ash.

"I will give you my answer soon, it is in fact becoming clearer what I want to do, but I need confirmation," Ash replied while looking up to the afternoon sky noticing Mew flying towards them, "it seems we have another spectator to your battle Salvia," Ash pointed over to the approaching legendary pokemon.

_A few hours later_

Salvia was standing at her side of the battlefield with Ash, Misty, Cilan, Raichu in the rafter waiting to watch the battle between Salvia and Sally, in the rafter was Mew sitting there with anticipation. Everyone knew that Salvia was going to have a tough battle, "so young lady are you ready to face me in battle?" Sally asked the royal with a smirk as she grabbed a pokeball, "in this battle it will be the one who wins the most battles out of six," Sally stated the rules as she prepared to call out her first pokemon in the battle, "Cryogonal, time to freeze things up," Sally called out a large snow flake like pokemon to battle Salvia's pokemon.

Salvia looked at the pokemon that was ready to battle her, "okay I guess this is it," Salvia said while trying to keep herself calm, she looked up to see Ash nodding at her, knowing that she had his support for this battle, she knew it was time to face the challenges, "Ninetails, it's time to shine," Salvia called out her fire type pokemon to face off against the ice type pokemon.

Salvia remembered what Ash had told her before her battle to win Ash his fifth pin in the master's challenge, 'just remember to have fun, even if things go badly just remember I will always support you,' Ash's words echoed through Salvia's mind, she opened her eyes and gazed at her opponent, 'just remember whatever happens, I will still remain by your side,' Ash's words echoed through her mind.

"Thank you Ash," Salvia said under her breath as she refocused back to the battle at hand, "time to start things off with Will-O-Wisp," Salvia instructed her pokemon. The fox pokemon sent out ghostly flames towards the icy pokemon.

"I don't think so, deflect them with Protect," Sally told her pokemon confidently. The ice type formed a barrier to stop the ghostly flames from hitting the ice type pokemon. "You made a good choice for typing, but my experience will overpower you," Sally told the royal as she gritted her teeth as the ice type got ready to attack, "now use Sheer Cold," Sally told her pokemon to attack the fire type pokemon.

A powerful burst of cold energy was fired towards the fox pokemon, "dodge it now, then attack with Flamethrower," Salvia commanded with certainty. Ninetails barely dodged the crystallizing pokemon's attack before sending forth a powerful burst of flames at the ice type, the attack landed but the damage was only light, "what it withstood the attack?" Salvia said as she started to realize the difference in experience.

"Not a bad attack, but still my defenses are very high," Sally said with a smirk, "Cryogonal, attack with Ice Beam," Sally called out for the next attack. A frigid beam was fired from the ice type pokemon towards Salvia's combatant.

"Dodge it now," Salvia instructed but it was too late the ice type froze one of the legs of the fire type to the ground causing the pin master to smirk, "okay I can't dodge the next attack." Salvia said as she began to panic a little, "Flamethrower," Salvia instructed her pokemon.

While the fox pokemon charged up the fire type attack Sally got ready to attack with the final attack of the round, "finish it with Sheer Cold," Sally instructed her pokemon. The powerful blast of icy breath flew towards the fire type while it let out the powerful flames, the attacks connected causing steam to emanate from the impact zone but the power of the ice type move started to overwhelm the fire type move pushing it back.

Salvia watched in horror as her pokemon began to falter from the might of Sheer Cold, "Ninetails full power," Salvia called out to her pokemon. The flames became more intense but were still being pushed back until the icy attack slammed into Ninetails knocking it out in an instant, "Ninetails!" Salvia yelled out in shock as her pokemon fell in battle against the icy attack. The princess recalled her pokemon, "she is tough," Salvia stated while looking at the pokemon who defeated her fire type pokemon.

"You didn't do all that bad, you just need to gain more experience but I do see potential in you," Sally complimented while recalling her pokemon, "time for the next round, Walrein, let's go," Sally called out her next ice type pokemon for the battle.

Salvia gulped as the powerful blue pokemon got ready to battle her pokemon, "Raichu, it's time to shine," Salvia called out her second pokemon for the battle.

"Ah another good choice for type matching, but still it seems like your Raichu also lacks experience," Sally said while Salvia glared at the pin master, "you are determined which is great," Sally said as the battle got underway, "Walrein, attack with Water Pulse," Sally commended with confidence, a large ball of water appeared above Walrein before it unleashed the attack.

Salvia looked on with determination waiting for the perfect time to counter the attack, "now use Volt Tackle to dodge the attack," Salvia instructed her electric pokemon calmly, the electric mouse dodged the attack with ease before charging towards the ice type with deadly force.

"Not enough time to dodge," Sally said as her pokemon took a powerful hit from the opposing pokemon, "wow, her Raichu is actually stronger than expected," Sally hissed in frustration while her pokemon slowly got up from the attack, she smiled at her pokemon proudly and watched the red sparks flying from the electric mouse pokemon, "use Blizzard now!" Sally barked out her instructions with vigor. A large wall of icy wind approached Raichu who was trying to dodge the attacks coming her way.

"Raichu, use Thunderbolt," Salvia called for the attack. A large bolt of lightning jumped from the electric pokemon trying to fend off the wall of ice coming her way.

"Show them what you are made of Walrein," Sally instructed her pokemon with great ferocity, the winds become more intense as the wall of icy wind slammed into Salvia's Raichu knocking the electric pokemon off her feet.

Salvia watched as her pokemon slowly got up trying to recover from the devastating ice attack, "Raichu come on you can do it," Salvia cheered her pokemon while everyone watched the electric pokemon try to get up after the attack. Raichu inched her way back to her feet but soon collapsed again from the powerful hit, "it seems like Raichu is unable to battle," Sally said as she recalled her second pokemon from the battle.

Salvia drooped her head and recalled her pokemon in shame, "I should have known, I am nowhere near as strong as Ash," Salvia told herself as she started to show her lack of confidence.

Ash got out of his seat and ran towards the edge of the spectators area, "what giving up already, you lost two rounds in this battle, but that doesn't mean you should give up, you can still win this battle!" Ash yelled out trying to encourage the princess to get back up, Ash placed his left hand on the railing and continued to cheer on the royal, "I am not blaming you for my injury, I saved you because I needed to," Ash said with a smile causing the princess to pick her head up and look over to Ash, "now get back in this battle," Ash ordered the royal as the friends looked one in shock at the support Ash was giving the bluenette the encouragement she needed.

'Ash, you really think I can win this battle?' Salvia questioned herself as she watched the trainer walking back to his seat with her mouth a gap from his speech, she picked her next pokeball and turned back to the battlefield with more focus than before, "thank you again Ash, I guess the pressure of saving my family and wanting to be by your side made me lose focus," Salvia said with a grin while Sally looked on in amazement, "time to continue this battle," Salvia decreed while waiting for Sally to call forth her next pokemon.

Sally called out a large brown pokemon with large white tusks, "what do you think of Mamoswine? Lose this round and the battle is over," Sally pointed out with a smirk.

"Dewgong, time to shine," Salvia called her next pokemon with even more confidence. The two ice pokemon glared at one another waiting for the command from each of their trainers, "start things of with Aqua Jet," Salvia shouted out her command.

"Use Stone Edge," Sally howled out her command, the larger pokemon sent out a barrage of stones to an approaching water type, the two attacks collided before Dewgong pushed its way through the barrage of stones and slammed into the ground type pokemon. Sally watched in amazement as her pokemon fell back towards her, "didn't expect this," Sally stated while her pokemon kicked back dust ready to charge straight into an attack, "Use Ice Fang," Sally ordered without fear. Mamoswine went into a head on charge with its tusks glowing a bright blue.

"I am not done yet, Dewgong attack with Aqua Tail," Salvia called out with great assurance, the two pokemon charged towards each other not willing to lose any ground. Eventually the two pokemon collided with their powerful attacks raising dust, "what's going on?" Salvia asked as the two trainers waited for the dust to settle.

After a short amount of time had passed the dust had finally settled revealing the aftermath of the attack, showing both pokemon had been knocked out of the battle, "amazing, that was unexpected," Sally said with a grin while recalling her third pokemon from the battle.

Salvia took the chance to recall her pokemon from the battle, "thank you Dewgong," Salvia said while choosing her next pokeball.

Misty, Cilan, Ash and Raichu watched the battle while Mew was in the rafters enjoying the battle, "she is still in this battle," Ash said while looking down to see the royal continue to stand her ground, 'come on Salvia, you can win this battle,' Ash thought with pride while listening to his friends talking about the last round.

"Time to show you my very best, Weavile time to ice this battle," Sally called out her next pokemon to battle Salvia's next pokemon.

Salvia looked at the powerful ice type pokemon and gulped a little, "Tyranitar, it's time to Shine," Salvia called forth one of her most powerful pokemon to the battle. The large green pokemon let out a powerful road as a sand storm appeared to change the conditions, "judging from the looks of Weavile it excels in speed," Salvia told herself as she looked over to her mighty rock type pokemon. "Tyranitar, start this battle with Rock Slide," Salvia ordered her armor pokemon with confidence. Large boulders appeared around the massive rock type before sending an avalanche of rocks towards the ice type pokemon.

"Weavile dodge the attack, then use Metal Claw," Sally ordered her pokemon, the speedy pokemon dodged the avalanche of rocks heading it's way with glowing claws, the ice type started to slash at the powerful rock type pokemon.

Salvia watched as her pokemon barely dodged the attack from the speedy dark pokemon, "now it's time attack with Stone Edge," Salvia instructed her powerful pokemon, while Weavile was in range Tyranitar unleashed a volley of stones at the attacking pokemon, the stones slammed into the ice type dealing significant damage to opposing pokemon knocking it back mercilessly.

"Amazing, she lured me into an attack, so that way there was no escape from her own attack," Sally said surprised in the tactics of the princess, 'she allowed me to attack,' Sally thought as she watched her pokemon slowly stand up from the force of the mighty attack, "alright, time to get back in this battle, Weavile attack with Ice Punch," Sally instructed her sharp claw pokemon with great intensity.

Salvia waited patiently as the pokemon got closer, her eyes glistened as Weavile got too close to avoid the next attack, "now hit it with Brick Break," Salvia ordered her mighty pokemon, the glowing fist of Tyranitar collided with the icy claws of the sharp claw pokemon, the massive pokemon quickly overpowered the ice type and slamming its powerful attack into the ice type pokemon sending it flying towards the end of the room knocking it out of the battle giving Salvia her first major victory, 'I won the round?' Salvia question herself with surprise.

"Alright Salvia, nicely done, now do it again!" Ash yelled out happily while cringing in pain and grasping his right arm.

"Impressive Salvia, using Weavile speed against it," Sally congratulated the young royal while recalling her fallen pokemon, "well I guess this battle is about to get interesting, so I will choose Beartic to battle you," Sally called forth her next pokemon to battle the princess while the few people were watching the battle wear on, "so what will you bring out this time?" Sally asked the bluenette as she watched her bring out a pokeball ready to call out her next pokemon.

Salvia looked at her pokeball for a moment and gulped again, 'you have been there from the very beginning, now it's time to battle,' Salvia thought as she threw out her pokeball, "Dragonite, it's time to shine," she called out her starter pokemon much to the surprise of everyone in the arena.

Sally gazed at the young girl and shook her head, "why would you choose that pokemon?" Sally questioned the bluenette's way of thinking, "you do know Dragon types are weak against Ice type pokemon," Sally said coldly as she shook her head again.

Ash smirked for a moment and noticed that the pin master was getting too confident, 'Salvia can win this battle,' Ash thought while watching his girlfriend getting ready to battle now with greater determination, "come on Salvia, show her what you can do!" Ash cheered out loudly as Misty and Cilan couldn't think of a way to cheer on the royal.

The powerful dragon type glared at the large white pokemon and got ready for the trainer's commanded, "now use Dragon Pulse," Salvia ordered her dragon pokemon quickly.

Sally watched as the attack and waited for her chance to have her bear like pokemon to dodge the attack, "now dodge it, then use Ice Punch," Sally instructed her pokemon with great confidence.

Salvia nodded to her pokemon with a confident grin, "use Fire Punch," Salvia commanded with assurance the powerful pokemon charged towards each other with devastating power, Beartic with an icy fist while Dragonite flew towards the Ice type with a fiery fist. Salvia and Sally watched as the two pokemon's fists slammed into each other causing a massive shockwave forcing the two trainers back, Salvia placed her arms over her face to protect her eyes from the dust coming her way, she lowered her arms and looked out to the battlefield to see Dragonite still standing, she looked over to the other side of the battlefield to see Beartic raring to go in the intense battle between the powerful pokemon, "I am not done yet!" Salvia yelled out with great determination.

"She is getting more confident," Sally said while gritting her teeth in slight frustration, "time to end this battle, Sheer Cold," Sally instructed her pokemon while swinging her left arm out.

The bear like pokemon sent out a powerful burst of Sub-Zero breath towards the dragon type, "not this time, Dragonite, dodge the attack," Salvia commanded quickly, the large dragon followed the command with perfection easily dodging the attack coming her way, "now end this round with Dragon Rush!" Salvia yelled out while clenching her fists with all her might. The powerful dragon type pokemon charged towards the artic pokemon with deadly force.

Sally watched this as her pokemon started to falter at the intimidating force coming from the dragon type, "if that hits, this round is over," Sally said during the powerful attack, she hoped that Dragonite would miss so she could capitalize on her opportunity. Sally watched in terror as her pokemon was tackled with devastating force from the dragon type pokemon, "Beartic no!" Sally yelled out as her pokemon was sent flying from the power of the dragon type pokemon.

Salvia looked on in amazement, she had won two rounds in a row with her two most powerful pokemon, she looked up to Ash who was cheering her on even through the pain of his broken arm, 'he is so happy, maybe I can win this battle,' Salvia thought as she recalled her pokemon happily, her expression changed now determined to win this battle, 'this battle isn't just mine, it's also his,' Salvia thought while awaiting for her opponent to call out her next pokemon.

"You have done well, but this is where it ends, time for you to face a greater challenge," Sally declared while pulling out her final pokeball, "victory will not come easy, especially when you are going to face off against Regice," Sally declared while calling out a large blue pokemon with great vigor, "how will you fair in a battle against a legendary pokemon?" Sally asked with supreme confidence in her abilities.

Misty and Cilan looked away knowing that Salvia was in a battle she couldn't win, "Salvia, you can do it, win this battle!" Ash yelled out which wincing in pain from his injuries.

Sally looked up to the rafter to see Ash cheering the royal with all his might, "I have a question for you," Sally decreed before Salvia could call out her last pokemon in the battle, "why did you take his place in this battle? I know full well that I wouldn't stand a chance against him, but you lack experience and yet you face off against a pin master," Sally enquired with a smile as she looked back to her opponent.

Salvia looked over to Ash who was cheering for her even while hurting, "I battle in his place because he is unable to," Salvia said with a smile while holding her pokeball, "I battle in his place because I need to find out how much stronger I have gotten," Salvia explained while placing her left hand near her heart, "I will win this battle for the both of us," Salvia declared without fear.

"Seems like there is another reason," Sally said with a smile while waiting for the final pokemon to appear.

"I will battle in his place because I love him and I don't want to see him getting hurt any more than he already is," Salvia said while preparing to take on Sally in the final round, "Latios, it's time to shine!" Salvia yelled out calling forth her father's pokemon, "Latios attack with Luster Purge," Salvia ordered her pokemon automatically.

A large burst of energy was fired towards the mighty ice type pokemon, Sally knew that her pokemon was too slow to move, "attack with Ice Beam," Sally ordered while trying to counter the determined attack from her opponent. The legendary met the eon pokemon's attack with a frigid beam causing a large ball of energy to swirl around in the middle of the battlefield, the battle got larger none of the combatants giving an inch, "full power," Sally ordered not wanting the princess to counter her attack.

"I will not give up, Latios full power," Salvia commanded allowing her father's pokemon to increase the attacks intensity, the two attacks became more powerful causing a powerful explosion that ripped the roof off the building, the shockwave pushed the two trainers back towards the wall and the pokemon crashing to the ground, 'I will not give up for Ash,' Salvia thought as she tried to get back up from the explosion that almost ripped the building apart.

Ash ran down to tend to Salvia, "Salvia, you can stop now," Ash said with concern as he made it to the princess's side, he looked up to see Latios standing but feeling the effects of the devastating attack, "she won the battle," Ash said with great surprise, he looked down to find the royal resting in his left arm, "I am proud of you Salvia," Ash said while seeing the pin master slowly walk towards the trainer.

She limped with a small amount of blood coming from her right arm, "she is a good trainer," Sally said while handing over the pin to an unconscious princess, "I guess this gym needs repairs after that battle," Sally said with a smile.

Misty and Cilan walked down to find Salvia resting next to Ash, "never expected her to do so well," Misty said while smiling at the young royal, "that is the last time I underestimate her," Misty promised as she waited for her to wake up.

"Hey beautiful, you won the battle," Ash said while gazing in to the princess's bright blue eyes.

Salvia grabbed the pin and looked at it, she noticed the pin case and smiled, "well this pin is yours after all," Salvia declared happily while grabbing the trainer's left hand tiredly, she placed the pin in his hand and smiled, she recalled her father's pokemon proudly knowing that she had won an intense battle.

Ash placed the pin in the case and grinned proudly at the bluenette, "no this pin belongs to the both of us," Ash said quietly while helping the princess up and escorted her out of the gym building which was destroyed by the intense last round with Mew hovering overhead happily after Salvia's victory.

* * *

**Salvia wins Ash's next pin in the master's challenge but a shadow is just behind them, an unexpected event will shake these two to the very core.**

**Next time Episode 32: Colin's betrayal?**

**Sorry this one took so long but the weather where I am from wasn't favorable. But still I hope you all enjoyed it, please tell me what you think.**


	6. Colin's Betrayal?

**Epsiode 32: Colin's Betrayal?**

_I hope you all like this episode, this one should be good I hope, with Ash hopefully giving Salvia a positive answer to her question_

* * *

Ash and Salvia emerged from the Pokemon Center after the brutal battle against the pin master and new gym leader of Mahogany Town Sally, Ash looked over to the roofless building and smiled for a moment while looking over to the princess who showed some pride in her achievement, "you know my angel, you battled extremely well," Ash said while the young royal giggled for a moment following Ash's congratulations. They looked around to see their friends and Raichu approaching them from the Pokemon Center with a small amount of food in their arms, "come on guys we have a two day trip to Ecruteak City," Ash said with great excitement before advancing down the road.

"Ash, don't rush," Salvia called out while following him without hesitation. The breeze gently blew through the small town, with the sun rising over the horizon and a few clouds were starting to gather to set up the perfect day of traveling.

The other friends looked at each other and smiled peacefully, "well at least they haven't changed," Misty said while watching the young royal catching up to Ash and grabbing his uninjured arm, "she really does care for him," Misty stated while getting ready to follow her friends towards the next destination.

"Seems like Salvia is getting closer to Ash," Cilan said with a grin as he remembered what the previous night was like at the dinner table.

_Flashback_

"Ash you only have use of one arm, let me help you," Salvia demanded with a smirk, she grabbed the fork and placed some food on the item, she moved the bit of food towards the trainers mouth and allowed him to eat, "I can't have my prince starving because he is hurt," Salvia chimed happily as she moved the fork back to the plate of food, she grabbed the knife with her other hand and started to cut the steak.

"You know Salvia, I am not a total vegetable," Ash said with slight embarrassment before his mouth was stuffed with more food, 'she is taking care to a new level,' Ash thought while chewing on the food.

Salvia pulled the fork out of his mouth again and got some more food, "here comes the aero plane," Salvia joked causing all of Ash's friends to laugh along with the young royal.

"Oh come on Salvia, do you think I am a little….." Ash was to finish before his mouth was crammed with food.

"Come on Ash, you need to let Salvia take care of you," Misty teased while wiping away tears from her fit of laughter.

The rest of the group watch as Salvia continued to feed Ash carefully while trying to hold back on their laughter, "I will be doing all this until you fully recover," Salvia promised much to the dismay of Ash and the joy of his friends.

_Return to the real world._

Cilan ran up to the rest of the group with a broad smile knowing that Ash was going to need all the help he needed to avoid going insane from the young royal's treatment of the trainer, "I can tell he was enjoying the help, but I also know it was humiliating him," Cilan stated while the moments of Salvia feeding Ash flashed through his mind causing him to laugh a little.

A small pink pokemon hovered behind a tree watching the group of four traveling to the next City, knowing that it was enjoying the journey, "geez Salvia, why are you treating me with more care than usual?" Ash asked the royal as Mew watched the trainer trying to free his uninjured arm from the princess's grip, "Salvia, I want at least one usable arm," Ash remarked but Salvia wasn't listening.

Mew moved slowly towards the group of trainers, "you need to accept help Ash," Salvia replied happily as she continued to hold on to Ash while everyone was watching the two, "plus you putting your life on the line for me has gotten you hurt on more than one occasion," Salvia stated while keeping the trainer close to her. Mew witnessed the group finally walking out of the town and onwards to their two day walk towards the next pin battle, "Ash, I will be taking the next pin battle in your place," Salvia declared causing her boyfriend to look at her in frustration, "you know, I really enjoyed that battle a couple of days ago," Salvia digressed happily while keeping her grip on the trainer.

After walking for a few hours enjoying the scenery Ash sat down to have a break with his friends, the trainers let out their pokemon so they could get some fresh air and Cilan started to cook lunch for the group, "you know tonight I think we should camp out," Ash suggested while putting his bag down next to him, he walked up to his pokemon and smiled at them for a moment, "sorry you guys missed out a couple of days ago, I know you were eager to battle the pin master like I was," Ash apologized to his team with a frown as his pokemon looked at his arm, "don't worry guys when my arm gets better then we will battle again," Ash said before the princess tapped him on the shoulder.

"Talking to your pokemon?" Salvia enquired, the trainer nodded quietly as the team looked over to pokemon food in waiting, "you know Ash, I missed camping out, we haven't had a night under the stars in a while," Salvia said quietly while looking up to the blue sky dotted with clouds.

Ash stood up and walked over to the princess, "yeah I missed a night under the stars," Ash agreed quietly knowing setting up his tent would be a difficult task.

"You know I had practice setting up tents," Salvia proclaimed while winking at Ash, "if you ask me nicely, I will help you set your tent up," Salvia said sweetly before removing her backpack. She walked over to a spot where she could set up her tent as the trainer walked up to a place where he could set up his tent, Ash noticed how much Salvia learnt and walked over to help her pitch her tent, "you're helping me even with one arm?" Salvia enquired while the others watched them preparing the camp together.

Ash used his left arm to hammer in the pegs while Salvia waited for her chance to help the trainer, "I have been reading a lot of your books recently," Ash professed with a smile as he showed one of the books from Salvia, "I even got a new book while we were in Mahogany Town," Ash stated much to the princess's delight, after he finished helping the princess set up her tent he walked over to his bag and pulled out a book from his bag, "I thought this would be interesting an book to read on our travels," Ash said while the princess stared at the book in shock.

"Ash, you got a really rare book, I have had no luck in finding that one," Salvia said as her expression changed to joy while looking at the picture on the front cover, "this is the book on a new region, one even my dad has never visited," Salvia said with a smile while pushing the book back towards Ash, "you know Colin went to that region during his travels, he said it would be a perfect place for couples to go to," Salvia said with a cheeky grin causing the trainer to blush, "hey after our journey why not go to that region," Salvia suggested causing Ash to look away to think about what the princess was suggesting.

"I thought you wanted me to find an answer first not go on another journey, I am getting closer, but I feel like the answer will come to me very soon," Ash confessed while looking into the bluenettes bright blue eyes, "I will stay by your side no matter how bad things get," Ash promised while Cilan's voice rang through the air. Ash looked around to see the table was set and the food was ready to eat, "well how about it, we go and get some lunch," Ash enquired coolly before walking over to the table leaving the princess to grin at him proudly, "come on Salvia, you need some food too!"

'You're not the only one that has to make a choice, I need to find a way to rescue my dad, Colin and Lady Delia,' Salvia thought before she started her approach to the picnic table. Salvia looked around to see the grassy fields with the hills in the background, 'Ash, I want you to choose me, every time you say you're close to an answer I find that you are scared to answer,' Salvia thought as she watched the trainer struggling to cut his food.

Salvia sat next to Ash and grabbed Ash's utensils to help him cut his food, "here Ash I will help you," Salvia said quietly as she grabbed Ash's left hand which had his knife, Salvia looked up and smiled, 'but I can't help the fact we are getting much closer,' Salvia believed while removing her hands to allow Ash to eat his food, "hope you enjoy your meal Ash," Salvia told the trainer while getting back to her lunch. She looked at the corner of her eye to see the raven haired trainer eating his food happily.

Cilan and Misty watched on as the duo in front of them ate politely, "you know Misty, Ash is taking in a lot of traits from Salvia," Cilan whispered to the red head sitting next to him, he watched Ash eat his food quietly not rushing his meals like he used to. "He is even reading more books than he used to," Cilan pointed out before turning his gaze to the pokemon eating their food, "even the two Raichu's are getting closer," Cilan explained while seeing Salvia's Raichu sitting next to Ash's Raichu causing Misty to look away from the scene knowing that her chances with Ash had been taken away, "Misty, what's the matter?" Cilan asked his fellow gym leader with concern before watching her walk away from the table a little upset about the closeness of Ash and Salvia.

Cilan got up and followed the water trainer leaving Ash and Salvia to finish their lunch in peace, "you know Cilan, I was hoping to tell Ash how I felt but it seems like Ash and Salvia are getting closer every day," Misty said with a frown before turning her head to see Ash take Salvia's plate to put it in the washing container, "she even battled for him, he risked his life for her," Misty pointed out while looking over towards the mountains, "after the next City, I intend to travel on my own for a while," Misty stated with smile as Cilan looked towards the campsite.

"You have known him longer than I have, but you do know you had your chance right?" Cilan enquired before flinching a little knowing that Misty might hit him

Cilan turned his head to see Misty smirking at him, "I know, I had my chance but I now feel like it's too late," Misty replied happily as she started to approach the table, "as long as those two are happy, then I don't mind," Misty stated while leaving Cilan to think about what Misty was saying.

"Come on Ash, I want to see that book today," Salvia chimed happily while Ash was helping her wash the dishes.

Ash smirked for a moment while doing his best to clean the mess up, "we aren't in any hurry Salvia, I will read this book once my arm is out of this sling," Ash stated with confidence causing the princess to splash some water towards Ash, "hey I didn't call you princess," Ash remarked as he tried to chase after the running royal, "come back here, this isn't fair," Ash called over to the bluenette while trying to keep his balance.

Salvia laughed while keeping her distance from Ash. It was soon stopped when she bumped into a familiar face, "Sir Colin, how did you escape?" Salvia asked in excitement but was soon pulled away from the guard before he dodged a powerful electric attack, she looked over to Ash to see a serious expression on his face, "Ash, what are you doing? This is our friend," Salvia enquired in slight shock as Colin looked at the duo without any emotion.

Ash closed his eyes for a moment to sense the aura, "something isn't right, Colin would have been happy to see us and how did he escape?" Ash asked the princess who stood up next to him before a powerful blast of flames headed their way, "his eyes seem to lack something, I mean he didn't even say sorry to Salvia," Ash deducted calmly as Colin just stood there.

Ash opened his eyes to see a dark aura around Colin, "strange that wasn't there when we last met," Ash stated while keeping his uninjured arm in front of Salvia.

"Salvia, it's time to see your uncle," Colin said without any enthusiasm.

"Raichu, use Thunderbolt," Ash instructed his pokemon. A large bolt of electricity headed towards the royal guard but was stopped by a flaming horse. "Colin, snap out of it we're your friends!" Ash yelled at his friend but there was no response.

"I have no friends just my duty to Chris," Colin replied with no smile.

Salvia looked on in shock while Ash tried his best to battle the royal guard without hurting him, "Ash, what do you think is the problem?" Salvia asked while watching her friend acting weirdly, "It's almost like he has been hypnotized," Salvia said causing Ash to look up quickly and clicking his fingers with certainty.

Ash looked over to Salvia with a smile, "you're a genius Salvia, Colin has been hypnotized, we just need to wake him up," Ash said quickly as looked over to his Raichu and nodded a his partner pokemon, "first we need to defeat his pokemon, Raichu attack Rapidash with Electro Ball," Ash ordered quickly, the thunder type formed a ball of electricity at the end of his tail before throwing it at the fiery horse.

"Not so fast, Rapidash use Flamethrower," Colin ordered quietly, the horse threw its head back before unleashing a powerful flurry of flames at the incoming attack, the two attacks collided causing an explosion forcing the native pokemon in the area to flee from the battle as it raged on, "give it up now," Colin ordered as the princess looked on in shock, the emotionless eyes of Colin soon fixed itself on the one he was supposed to look after, "Rapidash, Flame Charge," Colin ordered quickly.

The fire type turned its head in shock knowing that the order was wrong, "Colin come on man, we're friends," Ash called out to the royal guard, "Salvia, we need to try and get him to snap out of it," Ash instructed the royal calmly, "Raichu stop Rapidash with Volt Tackle," Ash ordered quickly as the fire type began its charge towards the royal. The two pokemon collided with great force forcing the princess to fall backwards in shock, "even if you're hypnotized, I will not let you hurt the princess," Ash declared while glaring at his unresponsive friend, 'I am doing this because you're my friend,' Ash glared at the guard while his pokemon jumped back with sparks flying from his cheeks.

Salvia got up slowly with her Raichu standing behind her, "I will battle too," Salvia decreed as she nodded to her own pokemon, her pokemon jumped onto the battlefield, "Ash how do we get him to snap out of it?" Salvia asked her loved one while looking at her friend, "maybe a memory or something," Salvia said as the opposing pokemon charged towards them in a fiery aura.

"Well you better think quickly," Ash replied hurriedly while pointing his left hand out allowing his Raichu to attack again, "Raichu attack with Thunderbolt," Ash instructed his pokemon while wincing in pain, 'great my right arm is in pain again,' Ash thought as Salvia looked at him in concern, 'where are the other two?' Ash wondered while looking around for Misty and Cilan.

Meanwhile Misty and Cilan spotted Ash and Salvia battling Colin and approached the battle, "why are they battling a friend?" Misty asked the green haired man.

"No Idea Misty, but there has to be a reason," Cilan retorted while running with Misty to get to the battle.

While the two friends approached the battle Salvia was helping Ash from getting hurt even more, "Ash you need to be careful," Salvia said with anxiety while Colin continued to attack them with his pokemon, "Colin remember when I first tried to escape the palace?" Salvia asked her friend causing Colin to stop the attack, "then the second, third, fourth and finally a few months ago?" Salvia asked the guard while laughing at the events that lead to this point, "then you helped me realize something Colin," Salvia remarked while Colin placed his hands over his head.

"Salvia, keep going it's working," Ash pointed out but Colin stopped and looked over to the people on the ground and noticed Salvia's hand on Ash's left shoulder.

"Rapidash, Flamethrower," Colin ordered his pokemon to attack yet again, a powerful burst of flames emanated from the fire type pokemon. But as the flames got closer as a powerful jet of water stopped the attack from hitting the couple on the ground, "who dares get involved in my battle?" Colin asked while looking at the large blue pokemon towering over him.

"I will not let you hurt my friends," Misty barked out while looking over at Ash and Salvia, 'Salvia, I admit it, you win this one,' Misty smiled at her friend before looking over to the royal guard.

"Misty, hold on," Ash instructed his friend calmly while Salvia stood up and looked over to her friend, "Salvia, has almost broken hypnosis," Ash stated as Misty watched for a moment and her powerful water pokemon glared at the fire type pokemon.

"Colin, please wake up, you helped me find someone I will love for the rest of my life," Salvia confessed while looking down at an injured Ash who was shocked to hear these words coming from the young royal, "what about the pranks we pulled on my dad, when I was only a little girl?" Salvia asked out while laughing at the memory that she was sharing in front of her friends, "the truth was I never laughed so hard before, but my journey with Ash has helped me laugh at many things, I am now able to hold his hand, because of what you told me in Viridian City," Salvia explained while Colin continued to stare emotionlessly at his friend.

"Sunny Day," Colin ordered quickly as the fire type's flames built up causing the sun to become brighter, "now attack with Solar Beam," Colin instructed his pokemon without any care, the fire type fired a powerful beam at the princess but she just stood there with a smile on her face, Misty's pokemon jumped in front of the powerful attack causing the pokemon to fall from the attack, "why did you do that?" Colin asked robotically as some of the shine in his eyes started to return, "Salvia? Ash?" Colin enquired but he yelled out with his head buried in his hands.

"Colin, remember when you were looking for your pokemon? It was me who borrowed them, I wanted to catch a pokemon so badly," Salvia explained causing Colin to get closer to coming back to his senses, "I wanted to tell you about Ash and me going out to have dinner for the first time," Salvia said as a smile started to appear on Colin's face.

"What? No this is a trick," Colin replied while the grip of hypnosis was starting to slip.

Ash stood up and walked next to Salvia, "It's almost broken, we need just one more push," Ash stated while nodding at the princess.

"Remember my last Birthday, I stayed in my room not wanting to come out, all because I wanted to celebrate my birthday with just Mom and Dad, not with some strangers?" Salvia enquired as more of her memories started to affect the royal guard, "all the trouble you went through to even open the door, all because I pushed my chest of draws against it," Salvia laughed as Colin started laughing at the memory.

"Yeah and it took me all morning to get you out of your room," Colin pointed out with sarcasm as he recalled his pokemon. He looked around to see where he was, "what? Where am I? The last thing I remember was being held captive by Chris and Alex," Colin said while looking at his friends hands entwined, "I was in a cell when I saw a large black pokemon with a piercing blue eye," Colin explained much to the trainers shock, "everything that happened after that was all hazy," Colin professed before looking over to Ash's right arm, "hey Ash what happened to your right arm?" Colin asked his friend.

"I defended Salvia from a red Gyrados, I pushed her out of the way and landed awkwardly," Ash explained while sitting back down. Salvia sat next to the trainer with relief etched in her eyes, "you were placed in a hypnotic spell, but why?" Ash asked while thinking about what had happened, "during our quick battle, you said something about taking Salvia back to Chris, so he must have told you what he wanted you to do," Ash explained with certainty as the trainer winced in more pain, "…..great, shouldn't have been involved in the battle," Ash said while placing his left hand on the cast.

_Whirlpool Island_

"Sir what if Colin doesn't come back?" Alex asked his friend with a frown.

Chris looked over to his friend while bouncing a pokeball in his hand, "I am not worried if Colin doesn't come back, I was only using him as part of an experiment," Chris explained while smirking over to the last two prisoners, "I only wanted to test the restrictions on Darkrai's power," Chris pointed out with a smirk.

"But couldn't you have destroyed his memory?" Alex asked his friend as he burst out into laughter, "sir, what about the princess and the trainer?" Alex asked quietly but the question was ignored for a moment.

Chris looked over to the brunette in the middle of the cell, "I have nothing to worry about, I have a trump card," Chris pointed out while smirking at Delia Ketchum, he looked at his pokeball and started laughing darkly.

Meanwhile in the cell Delia sat there unsuspecting of what was being planned, "Ash, I hope you're alright," Delia said with tears flowing down her face, "I can't believe your birthday is coming so soon, with recent events I wanted to get you something nice," Delia said while crying on the hard pillow, "I hope you're alright my son," Delia wept quietly so that Chris wouldn't hear her.

Brian sat there watching his friend crying, "Chris, you've gone too far in this crusade, when I get out of here, I will make sure you pay for what you have done to my daughter and to Ash," Brian glared over to his brother who was still bouncing the pokeball in his hand arrogantly, "whatever you did to my friend, I hope it will come back to haunt you," Brian said while looking out the window with his fists clenched in rage, "Ash, please continue to watch over my daughter, I never said this to you before, but you have my blessings to be with my daughter," Brian said silently as the rain fell on his face through the bars of his cell, 'there is a chance I might have to invoke the laws of my kingdom to save it, but it seems like it will be a last resort,' Brian told himself while walking back to his bed.

_On the way to Ecruteak City._

Sitting around the fire Ash and Salvia sat next to each other enjoying the night sky together, "you know Ash, we haven't seen Mew recently," Salvia said quietly before a small pin pokemon sat on the lap of the princess, "Mew it's so good to see you my friend," Salvia said excitedly while petting the small pokemon on the head allowing the pokemon to happily sit there enjoying the attention the bluenette was giving her. Salvia looked up to Ash with a smile, "Ash, I think your Birthday is coming up really soon," Salvia said with a smile as she looked into Ash's auburn eyes, "I never asked you what you wanted for your Birthday," Salvia enquired while placing her right hand on the trainers left hand.

"I have one wish, to rescue my mom and Brian," Ash said with a smile as he looked up to the sky yet again, "I discovered something today, an answer that would make you happy," Ash said with a smile as he turned his gaze back to the young royal, "after we journey, I want to settle down and stay with you," Ash said while gulping causing the princess to rest her head on the trainers shoulder, "over the last few days, I realized how much you meant to me, I would go to whatever lengths for you," Ash decreed with a smile as he remembered the days the princess helped him eat his food.

"You really mean that Ash?" Salvia asked as she started to cry with joy.

"Yeah, I mean it from the bottom of my heart, I promise to stay at your side no matter what, because my love for you has grown and it will never change," Ash declared as the two lovers looked into each others eyes.

Colin stood by the tree and smiled while watching Ash and Salvia kiss under the starry sky, "so they made a promise," Colin said while looking over to the small pink pokemon hovering next to the princess, "well I better keep my distance for now, I need to become stronger to save the king and Lady Delia," Colin said as he watched Salvia and Ash finish their kiss, "maybe our kingdom does have a bright future," Colin said before walking away from the campsite.

Not noticing that Colin left them to train Ash and Salvia looked up to the sky, "our bond will never be broken," Ash declared while letting Salvia rest her head on his shoulder.

"Yes my prince, I will not let anything get in the way of our future together," Salvia promised as she started to fall asleep on the trainers shoulder, "because no…... matter what," Salvia yawned, "I will love you forever," Salvia said with a smile on her face before falling completely asleep on the trainers shoulder under the night sky.

* * *

**I hope you all liked the episode, the last part was a little fluffy but I don't care, it sort of now shows that Ash and Salvia will continue on to whatever lengths. Ash has now answered Salvia's question favorably which I think was important to get that out of the way, instead of drawing it out.**

**What will Chris do now? And what is the trump card of the king? **

**The latter of the questions will be found out in the last episode of this series.**

**Next time Episode 33: Salvia's fighting Spirit.**

**And yes I might eventually add the new region to the story once I find out more about the new region.**


	7. Salvia's Fighting Sprirt

**Episode 33: Salvia's fighting spirit**

_Time to get through the next pin master battle, yes I intend to rush through them so I can get to the good stuff. This is the final episode involving Misty, but not to worry she will be back._

* * *

Ash woke up early in the morning with the night sky starting to brighten up, he opened his tent up and walked out, the cool crisp air with the owl like pokemon sitting in the trees, Ash looked around to see that the fire had burnt out and giving him the chance sit down on his own to watch the sunrise on his own. "Such a relaxing sight," Ash told himself while looking up to see more of the sky brightening up, while watching the scene he heard one of the tents opening up, he looked around to see Misty walking out to watch the sunset, "Misty, you're up early," Ash said with a smile.

Misty walked up a seat and sat opposite the trainer, "I will be heading to another region on my own," Misty declared while Ash looked on in surprise, Misty turned around to the sky to see the sun rising, "I mean I missed traveling with you and it certainly hasn't been like the old days," Misty pointed out with a frown while Ash looked on with a smile, "I have been hiding so much from my friends, some I can tell whenever I want but some I am a little too late," Misty decreed while looking to the ground with slight despair in her voice, she looked back to find Ash looking up at the morning sky.

"Misty, I really missed traveling with my original traveling companions," Ash professed with a slight sigh, he looked down to see Misty still sitting there and looking up to see the golden disc starting to appear with the mountains taking on a more of a brighter reddish color and the, "being with all my friends have given me great memories," Ash stated before looking back to find Salvia standing there happily, she walked towards the trainer quietly and took a seat next to him, "good morning Salvia," Ash wished Salvia happily.

"Morning Ash and Misty," Salvia replied while looking up to see the sun rising in front of the trio, Salvia watched as pokemon started to appear in the surrounding area. Salvia looked up to see the sun finally hovering in its entirety, "such a beautiful sight," Salvia said in a relaxed tone with the gentle breeze whipping her long blue hair around.

_Goldenrod City._

The forces of Team Rocket were patrolling the quiet city when a sudden explosion ripped through the city, causing some of the members of Team Rocket to run to the origin of the explosion, "quick, someone has attack one of our buildings," one of the rocket members declared as the panic of Team Rocket started to rise while another powerful explosion hit another building, "who is attacking us?" the rocket member asked in shock as a person walked through the smoke.

The person appeared with a smirk on his face and long red hair, "well Team Rocket, it seems my dad is causing some trouble," the man said while laughing at the rockets, "so have you seen my friends and Lance?" he asked calmly while the rockets started to surround him, he looked around with a frown still not taking notice that he was out numbered, "seems like my dad, has given me a nice welcome," he said with a smile.

A slim man walked through the crowd with a smile, "hello Silver, it seems you want to join this party," the man said with a smirk.

"Oh geez my dad sends a sleazy man, why doesn't he send me someone with a decent amount of honor?" Silver asked while shrugging his shoulder and sighing with slight disdain, "so Petrel, where are the other executives?" Silver asked the dishonest man.

"We are here, but why not join your dad, look around you, you're alone no one to back you up," said a woman with shoulder length red hair and wearing mostly white, Silver smiled at the rocket who was looking on in shock, "why are you so confident?" the woman asked in anger as the trainer started to laugh at the executive.

"Well Ariana, I am not alone, I have got a few friends here, Jimmy, Marina….." Silver started as a few pokemon appeared behind the rockets, "oh and almost forgot, I have got the Elite Four here and Whitney as well," Silver declared while the executives as the battle began to save Goldenrod City, "my only concern is that my dad is a coward and doesn't want to fight me, so I will ask you once," Silver dictated while the rockets began to suffer more defeats at the hands of the small but well trained team, "where is Giovanni?" Silver asked as the rockets smirked at the trainer.

"You just missed him, he went to Ecruteak City just yesterday," Petrel replied while calling out a purple pokemon with two heads, "but you won't stop him from helping a friend take a throne in a far off region, but you are not part of his plans, but there is a particular trainer from the Kanto region, I think his name is Ash Ketchum," Petrel pointed out much to the surprise of Silver, "he also has a princess with him, from what I have heard those two are a really nice couple," Petrel taunted while clicking his fingers.

"What are you talking about? Where is Ash?" Silver asked with his fists clenched in anger.

"Our forces are getting ready to move out to the Unova Region," Proton explained as the picture started to become clearer for Silver.

"Fareligatr, time to battle," Silver called out his starter pokemon to battle, "you intend to help Team Plasma who has resurfaced after Ash defeated them three years ago with the help of Hilda and Hilbert," Silver stated as the battle around the city started to intensify.

"Don't worry, the boss will not fight them until he fulfills his objective with the legendary beasts," Petrel explained, "but you lot will be too busy dealing with Team Rocket," Petrel said while his pokemon unleashed a toxic smog on the battlefield.

_Ecruteak City:_

Ash, Salvia, Misty and Cilan walked into the small city to find that all was quiet, Ash noticed how the city wasn't as vibrant as it normal was, "I don't remember this place being so quiet," Ash said with concern as he spotted members of Team Rocket walking through the city, "Team Rocket? But why are they here?" Ash asked as he looked back to his friends with a frown.

Salvia walked up to Ash to see a man with long black hair following the Rockets, "Ash, who is that man?" Salvia asked the trainer with uncertainty.

The group walked up to the man quietly and surprised him, "oh man, you surprised me," he said with a smile before turning around to see four people standing behind me, "wow two beautiful women, today must be my lucky day," the man said smugly while pulling out a bouquet of flowers, "alright no need to fight over me, I can only go out with one girl," he said while walking up to Salvia.

Ash walked up to the person with anger, "Ash, let me handle this," Salvia whispered and winked at the trainer. Salvia walked up to the person with a smile on her face, "I am not interested in going out with you," Salvia declared before grabbing the uninjured arm of the trainer, "I already have someone," Salvia decreed while pulling Ash close to her but soon found out the man turned his interest to Misty, "who is this guy?" Salvia asked in frustration.

"Me, I am Marcus the fighting type master, and the holder of the Karate Pin," the man declared with a smirk while showing off in front of Misty.

"Alright then I challenge you to a battle," Salvia issued her challenge in Ash's place.

Marcus moved back towards the princess and smirked at her, "when I win, you must go out on a date with me," Marcus demanded with a cheeky grin. "The battle will be decided with three double battles, win two of those battles and you receive the pin," Marcus explained the rules as Salvia glared at the pin master.

Salvia raised her hand and slapped the pin master across the face, "battle me now," Salvia ordered while walking away from the pin master.

Marcus walked up to the laughing trainer, "wow you have a fiery young woman," Marcus told Ash with a smirk.

Ash turned his gaze to Marcus and laughed at him some more, "you're just lucky you aren't battling me instead, because if it was me battling you, I would do everything to humiliate you," Ash said before following the princess who was still angry at the pin master, "oh and hit on my girlfriend again, I will make sure that I come back to annihilate you in a battle," Ash promised the pin master.

The pin master walked up to Misty with some flowers again, "so how about you?" Marcus asked before Misty walked away with Cilan to catch up with Ash and Salvia, "well, I guess I need to get to the battle," Marcus told himself while feeling alone.

Meanwhile Salvia stomped on ahead still feeling very angry at the advances of the Pin Master, "Salvia, I know you're upset, I mean I had to deal with Brock who was hitting on every woman he saw during our travels," Ash explained while Salvia turned around with a saddened expression on her face, "hey you have a battle to win, don't let that skirt chaser get to you," Ash advised with a smile, Ash turned around to see smoke coming from the south, "Goldenrod City, what's going on?" Ash asked while thinking about the city he once visited in the past with Misty and Brock.

"Hey you two we want to watch a great battle," Misty told the princess and Ash.

"Salvia, beat him senseless," Ash instructed the royal with a confident smirk. Salvia nodded with approval as they walked to a building with Marcus waiting for them at the front.

"So are you ready to battle me?" Marcus asked the princess with a wink causing the princess to glare at him, they walked into the dojo to see the battlefield set up for the trainers, "remember the rules are simple, the best two out three is declared the winner," Marcus pointed out while Ash sat on the seat with Misty and Cilan.

They watched the princess take her place on the battlefield ready to face off against a second pin master, 'Ash, please watch me battle my hardest for you,' Salvia thought while looking over to Ash who was smiling at her with confidence, he nodded while his Raichu sat in front of the trainer. Salvia pulled out two of her pokeballs and threw them out to show off her first team to battle Marcus, "Ninetails and Raichu, It's time to shine."

"Nice pokemon," Marcus complimented while picking his pokeballs for the battle, "Go Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee," Marcus called out for his fighting pokemon, standing in front of Salvia's pokemon were two humanoid pokemon one with red boxing gloves and the other with spring legs for kicking, "time to start things off with Thunder Punch now Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee attack with Hi Jump Kick," Marcus called out for an attack with a more serious expression.

"Alright dodge the attacks, then Ninetails attack with Shadow Ball and Raichu attack with Thunderbolt," Salvia instructed her two pokemon in the battle, the two pokemon followed the commands of the princess with great confidence, their opponents missed their targets but Hitmonlee took a severe amount of damage from the recoil of Hi Jump Kick, Ninetails charged up a dark sphere of ghostly energy before unleashing it at the punching pokemon and Raichu powered up a powerful burst of electricity before zapping the kicking pokemon with amazing force.

The two fighting pokemon fell back after taking the powerful hits from the princess, the pin master looked on in amazement, he looked at the determined eyes of the bluenette who was getting ready to attack again, "wow she is determined, would have been better off with a full battle," Marcus told himself with a smirk, "Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee attack with Close Combat," Macus commanded after regaining his composure.

The two fighting types charged towards the royal's team much to the princess surprise, "keep dodging the attacks," Salvia instructed her pokemon while remaining calm. Ash watched the two pokemon dodged the attacks with great precision waiting for the chance to attack their foes with a powerful attack, "wait for my command, keep dodging," Salvia ordered her pokemon as the continued to dodged the incoming kicks and punches of the two fighting type pokemon.

Marcus noticed that his pokemon were starting to get tired from all the attack, he noticed that his opponent was only reserving energy before unleashing a powerful attack, "her strategy is clever, I was caught way off guard here, stop the attacks," Marcus ordered his pokemon. The jumped back to await the next instruction, "Hitmonlee attack with Mega Kick, Hitmonchan attack with Mega Punch," Marcus ordered with certainty, the two fighting types charged towards the opposing pokemon with great power, the fist of Hitmonchan was glowing white and Hitmonlee's foot was glowing white, they got closer while the opposing pokemon remained calm.

"Raichu attack with Volt Tackle and Ninetails attack with Flamethrower," Salvia ordered her two pokemon. Ninetails threw back its head and unleashed a powerful burst of flames while Raichu charged towards the fighting type pokemon with a thunderous aura with the fire type attack enveloping the electric type, the attack combined to form a powerful combination before the attacks slammed into the incoming attacks.

The two fighting types flew up before hitting the ground, "amazing she combined the attacks extremely well, she must have had some practice," Marcus told himself while recalling his fallen pokemon, "you have amazing skills there, but sadly that will not be enough, the princess followed with her recall as Marcus grabbed two more pokeballs, "Hariyama and Gallade, time to fight," Marcus called forth his next two pokemon in the battle.

"Salvia you can do it show him what you are made of," Ash cheered for the princess loudly.

Salvia picked her next two pokemon, "Gyrados and Dewgong it's time to shine," Salvia picked her next pokemon with confidence.

"Alright time to see what you are capable of," Marcus declared as he started to get more serious, "Hariyama attack with Stone Edge, Gallade attack with Shadow Claw," Marcus explained his combo to his pokemon, the blade pokemon charged towards the bluenette's team with his elbows extended out and a shadowy blade appeared getting ready to slash down on the smaller white pokemon. Meanwhile Hariyama was powering up its attack, stones appeared around the fighting type before sending the barrage towards the two pokemon.

"Gyrados attack with Aqua Tail and Dewgong attack with Aurora Beam," Salvia ordered her pokemon quickly, Gyrados spun around with water coming from its tail before slamming it down on the on the approaching stones while Dewgong fired a rainbow colored beam at the charging Gallade. The attacks collided causing some damage to the battlefield, but that didn't stop the attacks from hitting Salvia's team, her two pokemon fell back a little before a powerful rumble rocked the dojo, "what's going on out there?" Salvia asked the as another rumble roared through the air.

Ash got up and ran to the entrance of the building, he looked around to see two pokemon running around the city, the trainer walked back into the dojo to inform the group of what's going on, "it seems like Entei and Raikou are running a mock," Ash replied as he ran back into the dojo, "I will try to stop them, Salvia you continue to battle," Ash instructed the people inside the gym.

"I am sorry Ash, but I cannot allow you to do that," Cilan replied as he walked up to Ash and pushed him back to the seat, "Misty and I will deal with this mess," Cilan decreed as he ran outside with Misty following him.

"Oh man, why does having a broken arm always stop me from helping out?" Ash asked while sitting back down to watch the battle.

"Alright young lady time to get back to our battle, Hariyama attack with Arm Thrust on Dewgong, Gallade attack with Night Slash against Gyrados," Marcus called for his attack to restart the battle.

"Dewgong counter with Ice Beam and Gyrados use Hydro Pump," Salvia instructed her two pokemon with confidence, her two pokemon threw their heads back and unleashed a powerful attack each, their attacks combined again creating even more force, but the two opposing pokemon fought through recklessly causing damage to themselves but still made it through and hit the princess' pokemon with devastating power.

"Wow her pokemon are tough, almost forgot about the intimidate ability, she is a good trainer," Marcus decreed while looking at his pokemon who were panting from the hit, but also noticed Salvia's pokemon were becoming exhausted as well, soon another explosion ripped through the air as a spark of lightning entered the dojo hitting Gyrados and knocking it out in one hit, "no, that was not cool, Salvia, I am giving you this round, I can't have a tainted victory," Marcus said with shame as he looked at the window to see a large yellow pokemon running about unleashing powerful bolts of electricity.

"How about a draw?" Salvia asked as she looked behind her to see another powerful beast at her end of the building, "I don't want to be handed a victory," Salvia declared as she glared at the pin master.

"You would have won the battle anyway, but at the moment we need our pokemon to fight the legendary beasts," Marcus pointed out in a serious tone before recalling his pokemon and running towards the entrance to his dojo, "Ash I don't want you getting hurt, so you need to stay in here," Marcus ordered the trainer before exiting the building leaving the trainer and the princess to look at each other.

"Ash, I will battle with the rest of my team, please stay here where it is safe," Salvia instructed the trainer before exiting the building.

Ash looked down at his arm and started to think about, "this is stupid, why am I here nursing an injury? It isn't that bad," Ash asked himself while looking up to see Raichu looking at him with sadness, "I know Raichu I miss battling the pin masters as much as you, I promise the next pin battle will be our team," Ash promised his partner pokemon before patting the electric pokemon on the head, he got up and walked towards the entrance of the building listening to the raging battle outside.

While Ash was waiting in the dojo for the rest to return Salvia was now staring down two powerful pokemon while her friends and the pin master had fallen back with their pokemon taking significant damage, "if only Ash wasn't injured," Salvia said with guilt as a shadow ball smashed into the legendary pokemon, the princess looked up to see Mew approaching her ready to battle against the powerful pokemon.

"Ah it seems like a pokemon we have been waiting for has arrived," a man said with a smile as he walked up behind the legendary beasts, "yes, Team Rocket now commanded the last two legendary beasts," the rocket boss decreed with a smirk as he set his sights on the girl and the legendary pokemon, "well princess, time for you to help me realize my ambition, also thanks to your help Mew can now be capture and put to use by Team Rocket," he said while laughing darkly.

"Mew, I left one member of my team at the lab, how about it we become partners, all you need to do is allow me to capture you," Salvia whispered at the small pokemon, the small pokemon nodded and used it's psychic powers to bring a pokeball towards it, it tapped it's head on the pokeball causing it to open, Mew became trapped inside allowing it to get capture, the ball wobbled after hitting the ground, 'Ash was going to allow me to use one of his pokemon in the battle,' Salvia thought as the pokeball stopped wobbling and signified the capture of the legendary pokemon, Salvia picked up the pokeball and looked up to the legendary pokemon who started to get ready to attack the princess, Salvia looked in horror as the attacks came her way, she barely dodged the attack and hid behind a building, "Mew and Latios, time to stop these guys," Salvia called out the two legendary pokemon in her control.

Giovanni smirked as the two legendries under his control attack the building Salvia was hiding behind, "come on young princess, you have something I want," Giovanni said while the two pokemon prepared to attack again.

"Mew, attack Entei with Psychic and Latios attack with Dragon Pulse," Salvia instructed the two legendries under her command, Mew's eyes glowed blue as an aura surrounded the larger yellow pokemon while a burst of energy slammed into the powerful brown pokemon knocking them back and allowing Salvia to come out from her hiding spot, "you distracted my battle, you hurt my friends and you expect me to hand myself over to you?" Salvia questioned the boss of Team Rocket.

"We aren't giving you a choice, we of Team Rocket will always get what we want," Giovanni pointed out while his two pokemon got back up to attack the princess' pokemon, "Entei use Flamethrower and Raikou use Thunderbolt," Giovanni called out for the two attack calmly.

Salvia watched as the two opposing pokemon powered up their attacks, "not a chance, Mew stop them with Shadow Ball and Latios attack with Luster Purge," Salvia ordered with great urgency. Her two pokemon got their moves ready to attack the opposing legendries, "now attack!" Salvia ordered with greater urgency, her two pokemon unleashed the powerful attacks while the legendary beasts sent their attacks towards their foes.

The attacks collided causing a massive shockwave that pushed Salvia to the ground, but she got back up and watched her pokemon gain the upper hand in the face off, "no, it seems like these two pokemon have been asleep for too long," Giovanni hissed as he watched the two pokemon under his command take the two powerful hits, "I guess my control devices aren't enough," Giovanni stated while the two pokemon got up slowly after the devastating attacks, he threw out two yellow, black and white pokeballs, "the two pokemon became trapped inside the capturing devices much to Salvia's shock, "yes I didn't capture them, but I still have a use for them," Giovanni pointed out as he grabbed his ultra balls, "you see I was only testing these two pokemon, now I know what they are capable of I think I will have them in the Team Rocket army," Giovanni declared before throwing down a smoke bomb.

Salvia waited for the smoke to clear eager to continue her battle with the boss of Team Rocket, after the smoke cleared Salvia saw that Giovanni had vanished behind the smoke screen, "he got away," Salvia stated in frustration. She walked back to the dojo where Ash, she recalled the legendary pokemon, "I can't believe I failed in this battle," Salvia told herself, she was greeted by her friends and Ash who were waiting for her safe return.

"I am sorry for my actions earlier, I should have known better than to ask out a girl I don't even know," Marcus said with a smile while scratching his head nervously, "I really have no luck with women," he confessed while Salvia and Misty looked at each other and nodded. "oh almost forgot here take this pin in recognition of your victory, witnessing the battle against the legendary beasts also proves you are a very strong and caring trainer," Marcus explained while handing over the pin to the princess, "in light of the situation I need to let the other pin masters of Kanto and Johto know about the threat of Team Rocket, so you have our allegiance," Marcus declared with a smile as he walked out of the dojo to begin his search for the other pin masters, "I also respect that fighting spirit you have, oh the next Pin Master is in Goldenrod City," Marcus said before exiting the building

Salvia walked up to Ash proudly and handed him the pin, "well it seems we need to head to Goldenrod City," Ash said with slight disdain while standing up, "Salvia, thanks again to be honest you are becoming a very strong trainer," Ash complimented with pride as the girl started to blush a little from the trainers compliment.

"I have to become stronger, I don't want to see the ones I love getting hurt," Salvia replied to the trainer's comments.

_Three hours later:_

"Alright I will be heading off on my own journey, thanks for allowing me to travel with you guys," Misty said happily before walking up to the princess, "please take good care of him," Misty whispered to Salvia before turning around to walk out of the pokemon center on her own.

'Thanks Misty, you are a great friend,' Salvia thought as she looked over to Ash who was waving goodbye to his friend.

"Well, it seems like there are three of us left to travel, I will stick around to the next City before I head back to Unova," Cilan explained his plans as the group started to walk out of the city before another explosion was heard through from a distance, "we better hurry there might be a battle ," Cilan said with concern.

"Well we better use our flying pokemon, Dragonite I choose you," Ash called out a large green dragon type pokemon.

"Latios, it's time to Shine," Salvia called out her father's legendary pokemon, 'I have a score to settle with the boss of Team Rocket,' Salvia thought as she pictured the sad expressions of the legendary pokemon she fought against, "those two pokemon were sad," Salvia told herself sadly as she climbed aboard Ash's Dragonite, "Cilan, you can climb onto Latios," Salvia told her friend as the large dragon took off towards the city to rush towards the serious situation.

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**I hope you liked this chapter, and yes Salvia has now captured her first legendary pokemon. **

**How will the battle for Goldenrod City go? Will the group rescue the legendary beast under Team Rocket's control?**

**This chapter was also to show how much Salvia has improved as well. Funny thing is I have written the last two episodes of the Johto saga, they should be massive to the story, I hope. this series is too much fun to stop, I will bring a more serious tone to series in the Unova Saga.**

**Next time Episode 34: the Fires of Goldenrod City**


	8. The Fires of Goldenrod City

**Episode 34: the fires of Goldenrod City.**

_I admit the last episode was a stand-alone one where we saw how much Salvia has developed. This will be the start of a three episode saga in Goldenrod City please enjoy. I also promise to bring some more action to the story with more explosions, (yes I love explosions and I think they are pretty.) I will also try something a little different in this episode as well._

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"Hold the lines!" Silver yelled out as the battle for Goldenrod City raged with no end in sight, Silver looked around to see the buildings on fire and the people panicking, he was holding off the four executives with the help of Jimmy and Marina, but they were still struggling to hold off the reinforcements of Team Rocket, "damn, Team Rocket are starting to get the upper hand," Silver pointed out with frustration knowing that even the gym leaders were getting exhausted from the constant pace of the fighting for the city.

Silver looked back to see Ilex Forest was visible knowing that they were being pushed out of the city, "it seems like everything you worked for in this fight was all for nothing," Archer said before laughing at the three trainers, "we have even received news of Giovanni succeeding in Ecruteak City, he has captured the legendary beasts Entei and Raikou," Archer declared causing Silver to stare out in shock knowing what that meant for the battle.

Suddenly and without any warning a powerful Hyper Beam impacted the powerful black dog in front of Archer, "it seems as though you have forgotten there are more trainers to fight," Ash told the rocket executives angered by the lack of concern for the people, he looked around to see the city on fire before bringing the rocket executives back into his view, "you will pay for this!" Ash declared as his pokemon landed in front of the rocket admins.

The admins caught a glimpse of the injury of the trainer, "come on you expect to win a war with that injury," Ariana arrogantly pointed out as the four admins started to laugh at the trainer.

"Well I definitely have more courage than you, you cowardly bitch," Ash replied angering the woman and shocking the princess greatly, "Dragonite, attack with Dragon Claw," Ash called out his attack while wincing in pain, the shiny dragon charged towards the large purple snake like pokemon with intimdating power, his claws glowing before slashing down on the pokemon, the serpent like pokemon fell back after taking the powerful hit leaving Ariana in shock, "don't ever underestimate me," Ash dictated while smirking at the Rocket leaders ready to battle them without hesitation.

"Ash, don't please, I don't want to see you getting hurt anymore," Salvia pleaded as her concern for Ash was now becoming more visible, "if you want to fight Ash, you need to recover, go somewhere safe, I will battle to save this city," Salvia pleaded with tears now starting to flow down her cheeks, 'I am scared that prediction might come true,' Salvia thought to herself as she walked pass the trainer with a pokeball in hand, "Latios, it's time to shine," the princess called out the eon pokemon without any sense of hesitation.

The rockets stared at the legendary pokemon unsure what to do next, "Ah the princess of Sinnoh has finally shown herself," Proton stated with a smirk, "Crobat, use Air Slash," Proton instructed his pokemon to attack the legendary pokemon with a confident smirk.

"Ash, go now, I will take care of this," Salvia said with determination, "Latios attack now with Luster Purge," Salvia called out for the attack while Ash was being escorted away from the battle by Cilan, a large purple beam of energy exploded from the eon pokemon's mouth causing it to colliding with the opposing pokemon's attack pushing it back hitting the poison type with a might burst of energy, "I have never seen the dangers of the world in this way, but to experience it for myself will only serve to make me stronger," Salvia declared while picking up her next pokeball, "you saw my dad's pokemon, now you will see my legendary Mew it's time to shine," Salvia called out her legendary pokemon. The rockets watched in shock as a small pink pokemon took to the battlefield ready to face them in battle, "Mew, attack Wheezing with Psychic," Salvia ordered her pokemon.

Petrel glared in anger as his pokemon became surrounded in a bright blue aura, "she is good, she is commanding those legendary pokemon with great skill," Petrel said with a frown as his pokemon became the next to fall in battle, "we better pull back for now," Petrel told his fellow admins while recalling his pokemon.

The admins nodded in agreement and recalled their pokemon but that didn't stop the fighting in the background as the explosions, but their team was still having a hard time dealing with the numbers that Team Rocket possessed, "we don't have time for intros, we need to stop Team Rocket," said a man with shoulder length red hair before running off towards the battle for the city.

After running off towards the battle a young lady with light blue hair and a male with spiky black hair walked up to the princess with a smile, "sorry Silver is just serious about stopping Team Rocket," the girl said with a smile as she walked pass the princess ready to charge into battle, "my name is Marina and thanks for helping us out there," Marina thankfully introduced herself to the young royal.

"My name is Jimmy, you know you're pretty cute, wonder how Ash got so lucky with this one," Jimmy said before being hit across the back of his head by Marina.

"My name is Salvia, the princess of the Sinnoh Region," the bluenette finished the introduction formally leaving the two trainers in awe. Suddenly a loud explosion rattled the area, the princess turned around to see the tallest building leaning to one side before eventually falling to the ground, Salvia caught a glimpse of a large brown pokemon running across the battlefield and Silver on the ground on one knee, "we better him now," Salvia said in shock as she recalled her legendary pokemon.

The two trainers nodded in approval and quickly ran to the middle of the battle, "damn, I couldn't save those people, father is that what it means for you to dominate the world? To needlessly murder innocent people?" Silver questioned the boss of Team Rocket, "well dad answer me!" Silver demanded in a rage while clenching his fists ready to strike out against his own father.

"Son you're soft," Giovanni stated while Entei got ready to attack the weakened trainer, "well if you want to protect these people so badly then you can join them, Entei attack with Flamethrower," Giovanni ordered his powerful legendary pokemon calmly. The large pokemon sent out a powerful burst of flames.

Silver watched in horror as the flames rushed towards him before it was met with a pink beam of energy, "what was that?" Silver asked in shock before turning around to see two of his friends walking up to him, "Marina, Jimmy sorry for rushing off like that," Silver apologetically said with a faint smile, he then noticed the princess walking up towards his father with a mostly blue and gray pokemon ready to battle the legendary beast with her pokemon, "be careful my dad is a powerful trainer," Silver warned the bluenette while slowly getting back to his feet.

"Ah, so the royal shows herself in this battle, where is your loved one?" the boss of Team Rocket asked while remaining calm, the two legendary pokemon glared at each other while Salvia and Giovanni stood there with the other members of Team Rocket fighting off the gym leaders of the region, "where are my manners, I am Giovanni leader of Team Rocket," Giovanni formally introduced himself while the powerful beast let out a mighty roar signaling the start of the battle. "Entei start things off with Lava Plume," Giovanni instructed the powerful pokemon, after the commanded the legendary fire type caused an explosion while sending out a burst of flames and smog which torched parts of the city while heading towards the eon pokemon.

"I will not give up, "Latios, attack with Shadow Ball," Salvia called for her counter attack, a purple blob of ghostly energy formed in front of Latios' mouth before firing it at the incoming attack. The attacks clashed in the middle of the city causing a powerful explosion send out shockwaves shattering glass and snapping tree limbs, Salvia fell back while Giovanni smirked at the trainer who was getting back to her feet, "I will not give up," Salvia promised as she cleaned up a small amount of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, she walked up back to the battle, "use Zen Headbutt," Salvia ordered her powerful pokemon.

"Hmph, Entei use Fire Fang," Giovanni made his command.

The two legendries charged towards each other with incredible force, the two pokemon crashed with one another, they tried to gain superiority but eventually the two legendries flew back pass their trainers smashing into buildings destroying them on impact, "Latios!" Salvia yelled out for her pokemon, she ran over to the eon pokemon with shock, but the psychic pokemon hollered and got back up ready to fight on, "Latios," Salvia called out in relief the princess turned around to see Giovanni standing there waiting for Entei to get back in to the battle, "why doesn't he care for Entei? Salvia asked while her father's pokemon got ready to attack yet again.

Meanwhile in a quiet location Ash had been taken to safety thanks to the help of Cilan, "Cilan I am worried about the princess, she is fighting against Team Rocket, please go and help her out," Ash requested while being placed inside an untouched building.

"Of course Ash," Cilan replied as he walked away from the battle.

"Raichu, please find and help Salvia out, I will be fine here," Ash said quietly as he entered the building seeing that children were sitting inside quietly and huddled together while the fighting raged on outside the build, "hey there are kids in here," Ash told his friend before he left, 'damn I can't do much with my broken arm,' Ash thought as he walked up to the scared children, they moved away from the trainer unsure of what to do, "hey there is no need to be scared of me, I will make sure you kids remain safe," Ash promised as he took a seat before a powerful explosion rattled the house he was in causing the children to cry out loud for their parents, 'Salvia, please stay safe,' Ash thought as a picture of the princess and her smile flowed through the trainers mind, "great if only my arm wasn't broken," Ash said with disdain while thinking of a way to settle the distressed children down.

The children covered their heads while the sounds of the fighting, the kids became more distressed as the sounds of the battle started to get louder, "we can't really go outside," Ash told himself while the children moved to the far end of the building, "I wonder if this building has a basement," Ash wondered as he walked around the house, he looked around until he found a set of steps, he opened the door and looked down to find a safe place for the children to stay. Ash ran back to the children to bring them to the basement, "hey I know safer place," Ash decreed before pointing to the stairwell, he escorted the children to the basement while one of the windows was blown out by a powerful shockwave.

The children all made it inside the basement with Ash closing the door behind them, they walked down the dark hallway with only a small amount of light, "this place is scary, we need some light," one of the little girls said while she started to cry.

"Hey look in my bag for a torch," Ash told the little girl. He opened his bag and allowed the girl to place her hand inside, she pulled out a torch and turned it on, Ash looked around and found they were heading deeper into basement, "where is this leading us?" Ash asked while looking back to see that no one was following them, "keep going, I will make sure you stay safe," Ash said while the little girl led the way with the torch.

After a while of walking, they finally made it to a cave where the trainer knew it would be safe, "odd why would they build a house above a cave?" Ash asked with a smile as the children sat down to wait for the fighting to end, "hey kids how about I tell you a story to pass the time?" Ash asked causing the childrens eyes to light up, they all sat in a circle in hopes of hearing a story from the trainer, Ash sat on the ground and started to think about a story to tell the young children, "hey how about a story where a normal everyday trainer falls in love with a princess from a far off region?" Ash asked the kids with a confident smile while the children's eyes stayed glued to the trainer, "I will take that as a yes," Ash answered his own question, "it all starts in the Sinnoh region, a handsome trainer walked into Sunnyshore City after a hard days catching of pokemon and getting ready to start his journey home," Ash started the story as the little kids sat quietly listening to the story.

Meanwhile back in the city Salvia's and Giovanni's legendary pokemon were panting after constant fighting, a few scratches lined the arms and legs of the princess while the leader of Team Rocket stood there with some of his suit torn up, "I must commend you young girl, you have some amazing skills," Giovanni pointed out with a smug look on his face, "but I have just about had enough of this battle," Giovanni told the princess as he pulled out another of his pokeballs, "Raikou, time to show this girl what you can do," Giovanni called out his second legendary pokemon.

Salvia looked on in shock while now looking at two legendary pokemon growling at her tired Latios, "Mew, it's time to shine," Salvia called out her second legendary pokemon, a large bolt of lightning headed towards the princess' pokemon before being stopped by a mysterious bolt, Salvia looked around to see a Raichu approaching her, "Ash, you seem to be looking out for me constantly," Salvia said while closing her eyes and smiling at herself.

The three pokemon glared at the two legendary pokemon under Giovanni's control, "you have one pokemon that is almost ready to fall, and two weaklings who stand no chance against the Raikou," Giovanni pointed out while Salvia looked at the eon pokemon noticing how tired it had gotten while battling Entei, "give it up little girl and hand yourself over," Giovanni dictated as the princess stood there defiantly not budging an inch as the two legendary pokemon growl at her.

Salvia glared at the leader of Team Rocket, "I will never give up, so you can forget it!" Salvia yelled at the rocket leader with a determined look in her eyes, she looked over to Entei who was panting heavily from the battle it had with the eon pokemon, "you can't tell me your pokemon isn't tired either," Salvia remarked while pointing over to the legendary beast.

Raichu's cheeks started to unleash a few sparks ready to fight off against the rocket leader, "Raikou attack with Crunch, Entei attack with Fire Fang," Giovanni instructed his pokemon with anger. The two legendary pokemon charged towards the three pokemon under Salvia's care, "dodge this if you can," Giovanni taunted the young royal as the pokemon continued their charge, "because if they dodge you will be in the firing line," Giovanni explained leaving the princess to think about what to do next.

"Raichu, please use Thunderbolt on Entei, Latios use recover and Mew stop Raikou with Shadow Ball," Salvia told her three pokemon with certainty, Raichu unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity while Mew fired a powerful sphere of ghostly energy and Latios started to glow a green as new energy flowed through the pokemon. The attacks landed on the two charging legendary pokemon keeping them away from Salvia's recovering team mate, "I told you I will not give up," Salvia decreed with a smirk.

The rocket boss noticed the young royal's fighting spirit and smirked at her, "well at least you have proven stronger than my son," Giovanni stated while his legendary beasts stood in front of him, "I also bet you're wondering where the third one is?" Giovanni questioned the young royal with a dark smirk, "you see about six months ago your uncle encountered the legendary Suicune before I did," Giovanni pointed out as he stood between the two legendary pokemon.

Meanwhile in the cave Ash was continuing to tell the story to the little kids while the city was being played out as a battlefield, "wow sir this person must be very strong to protect the princess from her bad uncle," one of the children said in wonderment not realizing that the story was about the trainer sitting in front of them

"Oh that's only just the beginning young girl," Ash said with a smile as she children moved ever closer to the trainer, "one day the trainer was talking to one of his friends, a person who looks exactly like the princess, that woman is very close to the trainer and was lecturing him," Ash continued to tell the tale as the kids listened with great intent, Ash smiled at the children's curiosity, "that woman noticed how much the trainer loved the princess and was telling him to tell the princess how he felt about her," Ash said with a smile while memories of the day he confessed his love to Salvia filled his mind, "what that woman didn't know is that the trainer was in love with the princess from the moment they met while traveling through Arrowroot Town," Ash explained with a smile while as the kids continued to sit silently listening with great intent.

"Wow this story is really good," said a little boy.

'Yeah this story is about me,' Ash thought with a smile as he looked around to see the kids staying where they were, "you know something, the story I am telling you is a true story," Ash told the kids with a smile making the kids look on in shock.

"No way, a true story" the kids question in unison.

"Yeah of course it is, the good thing about this story there will be plenty more after these two love birds visit Johto," Ash explained while the children were whispering to themselves. "How about I continue the story?" Ash asked the kids as they grew silent again, 'maybe one day I can have a family, to share my stories with,' Ash thought with a smile before he continued to tell the tale to the young children.

The battle was raging on Silver, Marina and Jimmy were struggling to hold off the admins due to them being out numbered, "hey Jimmy, you know this battle isn't going so well?" Silver asked his friend with a smile.

"Yeah I know bro, but it shouldn't stop us from causing some severe damage to Team Rocket," Jimmy replied with a smug look, "I picked a fine day to give up on my gambling," Jimmy complained as his Typhlosion got ready to attack.

"Okay quit complaining Jimmy," Marina ordered the trainer with a frown, she stood next to the trainer with her Meganium ready to fight.

"That's the spirit you three, I will help you out in this battle," said a strange man with a smile, the people looked up to see a man wearing mostly black with a red cape and white hat, "Rapidash, time to battle," the man called out his flaming horse.

"Whoa, who is this guy?" Jimmy asked himself while Marina stared at the man with love in her eyes, "not this again, Marina, if we are going to continue going out, can you please stop crushing on guys with capes?!" Jimmy asked with obvious irritation.

"Well I don't see you wearing a cape," Marina replied before she returned her focus back onto the battle, "matters not, we still have a city to save," Marina declared while her grass type pokemon got ready to attack the pokemon used by Team Rocket, "Meganium let's get back into this battle," Marina declared her intentions as her grass type stood ready to face the opponents. "Attack with Razor Leaf," Marina called for her attack, the grass type fire a barrage of sharp leaves towards the admins.

"Feraligatr, attack with Aqua Tail," Silver called for his attack, Feraligatr charged toward the admins pokemon with a spiral of water coming from his tail with the leaves spinning around the vortex, "Jimmy finish the combo," Silver requested as Jimmy nodded with approval.

"Alright buddy time to attack with Fire Spin," Jimmy instructed for the next attack with the combo, Typhlosion unleashed a vortex of fire combining with the other attacks.

"Amazing these three are extremely strong," Colin said with a proud smile as the attacks landed on the four pokemon and dealing immense damage on the four pokemon, "they work together, I guess Ash and Salvia need to learn from these three," Colin told himself as the four admin recalled their pokemon from the battle.

"You three are indeed strong, but you need to remember we have a way of keeping this city under our control, we don't just have the power of Entei and Raikou," Archer said while he retreated with the other three members of the Rocket leadership, "it's almost time to set things up in preparation for the next part of the plan, we still need to find the Rainbow and Silver wind," Archer explained to his fellow admins leaving the trio to wonder what was going on.

Colin walked up to the trio and clapped his hands, "you three are amazing," Colin said with a smile while the trio looked at each other happily knowing that that did a great job, Colin looked around to see fewer members of Team Rocket.

In the cave the kids continued to listen to the story that Ash was telling them enjoying every moment, "she used her legendary pokemon to attack Giovanni's legendary pokemon," Ash made up another part of the story not realizing that every word he was saying in his story was playing out exactly the way he said, "commanding her pokemon to never give up and to save the people of this city," Ash continued through the tale.

"Wow the princess is really brave, I wish to meet her very soon," one of the girls said with a bright smile.

_The battle through Ash's story:_

"The princess glared at the rocket boss not budging an inch noticing that something was wrong," Ash continued the story, Salvia looked around to see most of the members of Team Rocket running from building to building, "her pokemon and the trainers Raichu got ready to battle once again, she commanded the electric pokemon to use Thunderbolt, her Mew to follow up with Shadow Ball and Latios to end the combination with Dragon Pulse," Ash directed the story as the picture of the battle played through his mind.

"What happens next?" one of the little boys asked hopeful the princess would win the battle.

Salvia's pokemon unleashed their attacks but Giovanni's pokemon dodged them with ease, "the boss had Entei and Raikou dodge the attacks and used their own powerful attacks on the pokemon the princess was using," Ash replied with a frown. Salvia gritted her teeth in frustration knowing that this battle was becoming more difficult. "Soon after the attacks were dodged Giovanni laughed at the beautiful young royal stating he had other plans for this city," Ash said while imitating the voice of Team Rocket's boss in a failed attempt.

"Wow, this guy must be nasty," one of the girls said with a saddened expression.

Salvia stood there defiantly knowing she couldn't stop battling for the peoples sake, "I will not give up," Ash and Salvia said in unison as more of Ash's story played out perfectly. "Giovanni laughed at the determined royal," Ash told the story as the explosions of the battle rang through the cave.

_Back inside the cave:_

"I have a question, is the trainer in this story you?" one of the children asked leaving Ash to chuckle a little from the question.

"Yes the trainer is me," As replied with a proud smile.

"So you're really going out with a real life princess?" the kids asked in unison and loudly, Ash nodded with his eyes closed.

"Wow sir you're really lucky," one of the girls said with a smile as the trainer smiled at himself.

Ash looked up and thought about the time the princess battled some of his battles, "yeah I am really lucky, but was it luck that brought us together?" Ash asked the kids as they tilted their heads in unison.

_Back to the battle:_

"You know little girl, I have an ace up my sleeve," Giovanni professed calmly as he recalled his legendary pokemon.

"What are you talking about?" Salvia asked in reply.

"You did notice the rockets running from building to building?" Giovanni asked the bluenette with a sneer, "searching for two very special items the Rainbow Wing and the Silver Wing," Giovanni stated while walking away from the battle, "not only that we also found something of interest in the Ilex Forest, Celebi," Giovanni explained while turning around with a dark grin on his face.

"What are you planning?!" Salvia asked in anger as her pokemon looked at her in shock.

"I plan to use explosives to find what I want and to lure out the pokemon of time," Giovanni digressed his plan.

Salvia looked around the city in shock after hearing the plan, "what about the innocent people?!" Salvia questioned the boss of Team Rocket.

"This city is disposable," Giovanni declared causing the princess to collapse on her knees. As Salvia looked towards the ground with tears rolling down her face a member of Team Rocket walked up to the boss, "if you want to save this pitiful city, I would recommend that you hurry," Giovanni directed the princess as she slowly got up still shocked with the revelations, "you have until the sun is fully set to save the city and its people," Giovanni told the princess.

Salvia looked up to see the sun nearing the horizon, "but that is only two hours away," Salvia pointed out in sadness.

"Well then you better hurry," Giovanni laughed at the young royal, before walking away, "we pull back for now," Giovanni told his rocket grunts.

* * *

**I hope you liked this one, yes I tried to do something a little different in this episode, I hope it worked out nicely.**

**Two hours to save a city set to blow up for Team Rockets plan. What will Salvia do to save the city? Will she save the innocent people?**

**Next time Episode 35: Against all odds**


	9. Against all odds

**Episode 35: Against all odds.**

_This is the last episode of the battle for Goldenrod City, it was also about time I brought a serious feel to the story, the last was just the start of it. I also feel that the ideas are now coming together real nicely._

* * *

Salvia slowly picked herself up feeling the flames raging from the building knowing that she had no time to cry, no time to regret her actions, she knew she needed to save the people and the city, "there is no need for me to dwell, I will save this city and its people," Salvia declared while staring at the sun with a determined look in her eyes, small amount of blood coming from the corner of her mouth and grazes over her legs and arms from the vicious battle she had with the Rocket boss, "Ash I will make sure everything is alright," Salvia promised while the pokemon under her command nodded with assurance, "I will need your help," Salvia said as she looked at her pokemon.

Salvia ran towards another battle to see Colin and the three other trainers standing next to a shop talking about a plan they had come across, Colin looked over to Salvia and smiled at her, "Lady Salvia, sorry I left you and Ash a while ago, but I had some training to do," Colin said with a frown as he detected the bluenettes more serious disposition, "Lady Salvia, what's the matter?" Colin asked with concerned that something was wrong.

"Colin, Marina, Jimmy and Silver I have some horrible news," Salvia said with her fists clenched, "Giovanni and the rest of Team Rocket have wired this city to explode," Salvia declared leaving the friends in shock.

"I did find it strange that they retreated this early in the battle," Colin said with a frown while the friends walked up to the royal.

"How long before the destruction of the city?" Jimmy asked with sadness.

"Less than two hours," Salvia declared causing Silver to punch the wall next to him, "Silver, Giovanni said his son was weak," Salvia explained with a grimace.

"My dad has gone too far!" Silver yelled out in rage before running off to find his father.

"We don't have enough time to evacuate the people by foot, just telling them would cause panic which would be a real problem," Marina deducted as the time started to dwindle, "we might need to have a pokemon that can fly people out of the city or a pokemon to teleport as many people as possible," Marina said while the plan as Cilan walked up to the group of friends, "Cilan, where is Ash?" Salvia asked the gym leader with sadness.

"He is in a house on the edge of the city," Cilan replied calmly.

"Cilan we need to get the people out of the city as fast as possible," Salvia told the pokemon Connoisseur, "Team Rocket plan to blow the entire city up to find the Rainbow Wing and the Silver Wing," Salvia said seriously.

As the group went their separate ways to try and evacuate the city of the in habitants, Salvia pressed in Ash's number on the X-transceiver to get a hold of the trainer, "Salvia, wow you look like you went through an intense battle," Ash remarked before noticing the serious expression on the young royal's face, "Salvia, is there a problem?" Ash asked while turning his gaze to the children.

Ash listened to the situation that had unfolded with open ears, concern was plastered over his face knowing that there wasn't much time to rescue the people as well as Ash and the kids, "you see Ash, there isn't much we can do to stop the city from being destroyed, but we can save the people," Salvia explained as the kids started to cry in the background, "what are you going to do Ash?" Salvia asked the trainer knowing that he wasn't going to have the time to get out of the city.

Ash looked over to the kids and nodded, "I will stay with the kids," Ash retorted while gulping at the situation.

Salvia smiled faintly knowing that he was doing the right thing, "but what about you? You do know that the city will be destroyed right?" Salvia asked the trainer as her concern started to build.

"I will be fine, just do what you need to do," Ash said with a nod, "I have a plan to keep the kids safe," Ash declared while trying to remain calm in front of the kids, 'remain calm, easier said than done,' Ash thought while shaking heavily, 'to be honest I am afraid.'

Ash looked down at the children who were crying in great numbers, he tried to maintain a strong presence for them but knew it would be tough since they were in a tough situation, "what do we?" one of the many children, Ash looked around to think about what the next.

"Well do any of us have a ground type pokemon, we can use them to dig our way out," Ash directed with a more positive outlook.

"Yes I have an Excadrill, well it belongs to my parents who traveled to Unova last year," a small boy replied while showing his pokeball to the trainer.

"Good, we can use Excadrill to get out of here," Ash directed as the kids started to dry their eyes out and looking to the trainer.

"Will you tell us more of the story?" one of the little girls asked while looking up to Ash.

"How about being a part of it? Ash replied with a grin.

Meanwhile in the city Salvia was doing her best to get the people out of the city, with time slowly dwindling and more people panicking after finding out that the city was going to be destroyed the princess looked over to her new friends and Colin who weren't having much luck with the evacuation, she looked at her watch to find that she only had ninety minutes to save the people, "please people remain calm, I will do everything to get you out of here!" Salvia yelled at the top of her lungs but the people were too shaken up to listen.

Marina was trying to get the people to calm down while Jimmy was getting people to a nice area to have his Alakazam teleport the people out of the city, "come on folks this is no time to gamble with your lives," Jimmy stated while getting his psychic pokemon ready to get the people out of the city, "now hold hands folks," Jimmy instructed the people as the followed the order he nodded to his powerful pokemon, but before the pokemon teleported away he spotted one of the children letting go of the crowd.

"Come on guys we don't have enough time to mess about," Marina decreed while getting the people to calm down like they did for Jimmy, "alright please hold each other's hands while my Gardevoir gets you out of here," Marina as her pokemon teleported the crowd outside the city.

"Excuse me young lady, do you need help to get the people out of here?" A female with shoulder length pink hair asked the trainer, "my name is Whitney," she decreed smartly as she walked to the front of the crowd, "people please listen to this girl!" Whitney yelled out to the massive crowd, "now you can take charge," Whitney told the princess with a smile while waiting to see what would happen next.

Salvia took a deep breath and looked back towards the massive crowd, "alright ladies and gents I need you all to hold hands for a little while," Salvia instructed the people. Salvia watched them do as they were told, "Mew, it's time to get us out of here," Salvia instructed the small pokemon, the crowd looked in awe as the saw the rarest pokemon in the world in the possession of the princess. In a mere instant the pokemon teleported the large crowd with Salvia towards the designated area.

Salvia looked around to make sure the people were teleported safely, she looked over to her legendary pokemon tired after using up a lot of energy from teleporting the huge crowd, "you did well, who are you?" Whitney asked the bluenette with a carefree look.

"My name is Salvia," the young girl introduced herself to the gym leader.

Suddenly another lot of people appeared in the desired area, "good we have another lot of people," stated a blue haired trainer with a proud smile before seeing more people coming from the city, "nicely done Jimmy," Marina gave Jimmy a thumbs up, she walked up to the young royal with the news, "it seems like we have evacuated almost all the people," Marina pointed out with pride before looking towards the city, "with fifty minutes to spare," Marina pointed out with even more pride.

"Um we have a problem," Jimmy pointed out with a concerned look in his eyes, "while we were teleporting people out I noticed a few people staying behind, most of them are little kids," Jimmy explained the situation as Colin entered the area with a few people on his Staraptor, "I will head back to retrieve the people," Jimmy said before a flash of light illuminated the ahead, "what Salvia went on her own," Jimmy said in shock before being stopped by Colin.

"Crap, we can't leave these people now," Marina said while looking over to the crowd who were growing even more distressed, the people sat down to wait for the inevitable destruction of their city, "we haven't even heard from Ash in a while," Marina said with more concern as she looked around to see Jimmy sitting down in disbelief, "We don't even have the time to do another search, so we need to trust Ash's girlfriend," Marina said while sitting next to Jimmy

Back in the empty streets of Goldenrod City Salvia was looking around the quiet streets with Mew hovering next to her, "alright Mew, we need to find the people who were left behind," Salvia told the legendary pokemon. She combed through the streets and alleys to find the people, Salvia walked towards empty houses until she spotted a house with the lights on, she ran up to the house and knocked on the door.

"I am not leaving my home," the elderly lady said in a stubborn tone, "my late husband built this home with his own hands," she said as Salvia tried to talk her into leaving for her own safety.

Salvia did everything she could to persuade her to leave but she had no success in doing so, "please ma'am this city is about to be destroyed," Salvia pleaded with the old lady but the woman slammed the door in her face, "please, let's go to safety," Salvia pleaded while crying heavily but the woman wouldn't open the door.

Salvia looked around her left shoulder to see a group of children running from one side of the street to the other, "come on there is no traffic, we can play hide and seek," the children said happily not knowing the danger that was about to befall them.

Salvia turned her gaze back to the house and thought for a moment, 'I haven't much time, I will save the children,' Salvia thought while running off towards the playing children, "come on Mew," Salvia called over to her pokemon, she looked up to the sky to see the sun starting to set in the background and quickly continued her mission to save as many people as possible.

Meanwhile outside the city Silver had finally caught up with his father, he looked around to see Team Rocket glaring at him, "father this has gone too far!" Silver yelled at his father. Giovanni turned around to see the red haired trainer glaring at him, "why do you intend to destroy the city?" Silver asked the rocket boss but the question was ignored by the boss, "well answer me!" Silver demanded as his father laughed at him causing the trainer to sneer at him with his fists clenched with fury directed at his father.

"You want to know boy? Well it's rather simple," Giovanni retorted with a dark grin, "it is just a message to show the world Team Rocket are back," Giovanni remarked while pulling out two of his pokeballs, "we want to show the people of the world we are more powerful than ever," Giovanni explained while Silver picked two of his pokeballs ready to face his father in battle.

"So killing innocent people is the way to show the world you are back, that's disgusting dad!" Silver hollered feeling like he had no choice but to battle his father

"Just so you know son, you have no chance of winning in a battle against me, I have Entei and Raikou on my team," Giovanni explained with a smirk.

"I don't care what you have on your team!" Silver yelled at his father, "I will do whatever it takes to stop you!"

In the city Salvia had caught up to the children knowing that this was her last chance to save them from death, "hey look another person coming to play with us," one of the kids said with an energetic smile.

Salvia walked up to the small group and extended her hand, "we need to get you lot to safety," Salvia declared trying to talk the children into going with her.

"Yeah right this city is safe," the older child said with a proud smile before it was wiped away when a powerful attack caused a shockwave shattering more windows, "wow that battle must be pretty intense," the child said with an excited smile.

"We don't have the time to mess about," Salvia dictated while the kids just ran off towards the battle. Salvia quickly gave chase to the children to prevent them from getting too close to the battle, 'that must be Silver fighting his father," Salvia stated while quickly catching up to the small group of children, suddenly they separated going in different directions, "I don't have time for this and neither do they," Salvia declared while pulling out two of her pokeballs, "Dragonite and Latios help me save those children," Salvia instructed her pokemon while continuing to catch up with the main group in front of her.

"She is persistent," one of the children stated with a smirk, they continued to run through the streets of the city trying to shake the princess off their trail but they were getting closer to a building.

Salvia continued to running towards the children before they ran into the building and closed the door on her, "Mew, open the door with Psychic," Salvia asked the pokemon with a serious expression. The legendary pokemon used its psychic powers to remove the door from its hinges to allow its trainer into the house. Salvia ran into the house to find the children, "come on kids we need to get out of the city now!" Salvia yelled out to the children while Mew entered the house.

As Salvia was walking further into the house she heard a scream of a child coming from deep in the house, "a ghost pokemon!" the children screamed out in horror, Salvia quickly ran towards the room to find what was going on.

With Mew at her side she made it to the children noticing a powerful ghost type pokemon moving towards the children, "a Dusknoir," Salvia whispered as her pokemon, "you'll be fine, you guys need to trust me," Salvia said with a smile as a loud roar was heard from the outside, 'Dragonite,' Salvia thought as more kids entered the house to see where their friends were. Salvia turned around to see them approaching the group, "Mew hold Dusknoir back with Shadow Ball," the young royal instructed her pokemon as her panic started to build up.

A powerful blob of ghostly energy smashed into the ghost type knocking it back towards the wall, "come on kids, we don't have much time to mess about, your other friends should be with Latios as well," Salvia explained the situation to the children, "I am sure your parents are worried sick about where you are," Salvia told the children with a warm smile.

The children nodded in approval and followed the princess out of the house, she spotted her pokemon while the kids looked on in awe, "wow she has amazing pokemon," one of them said with a smile, Salvia pulled out her pokeball and recalled her Dragonite.

The princess looked up to see the sun was almost under the horizon when a sudden explosion shook the area forcing the people in the area to fall to the ground, "stay close!" Salvia yelled out as another explosion rattled the area, the kids started to cry out for their parents while some of the buildings in the city started to collapse, "everyone grab each other's hands!" Salvia instructed the children while her Mew was ready to get them out of there, "now Mew teleport us from this place," Salvia told her pokemon as the devastation was getting ever closer to them, in a sudden blink the group had left the area before the explosives blew up destroying the area they were in.

Outside the city Silver looked over his right shoulder to see the city being destroyed as the shockwaves flew across the battlefield, "what, we're too late to save the city," Silver said while collapsing on his knees in shock before pounding the ground with his fists, he looked up to his father in rage knowing that he had gone too far for his ambitions, "you're not my dad, you're a monster!" Silver roared out as his father laughed at his son.

"What exactly are you going to do about it, you're barely handing Entei and Raikou," Giovanni said calmly as he waited for the bombs to finish off the city, "you see son, when you have ambition, you don't care for those who get in the way, even you have an ambition and you would use those people to achieve it," Giovanni explained while the Rocket forces stood next to Giovanni, Silver looked to the ground in shame and thought about his friends, "you are thinking about your so called friends right?" Giovanni enquired with a dark grin.

"That's what sets you and me apart dad, I have ambitions, but I want my friends to help me achieve me goals, you have an entire army at your disposal with an incredible amount of resources," Silver started while trying to calm himself down, he looked up to his father with a smirk, "at least I have people who care about me, I don't need some pointless ambition as long as I can laugh with my friends," Silver pointed out with proud smile.

"Stupid sentiments, Entei, Raikou finish his pokemon off," Giovanni ordered for the final attack of the battle. The two legendary pokemon got their attacks ready before unleashing them at his son's two pokemon.

"Rhyperior, attack with Rock Wrecker and Weavile attack with Night Slash," Silver called for his next attacks while his father's legendary pokemon unleashed their powerful attacks on the two pokemon. Weavile quickly ran towards the thunder type pokemon, 'Ash, Salvia, Marina and Jimmy, I will make sure my father doesn't win this battle,' Silver thought as he glared at his father in anger. Rhyperior formed a large boulder at the end of its hands before blasting it towards the incoming attacks of the legendary pokemon.

Unfortunately the trainers pokemon were too exhausted to do any damage to the mighty pokemon standing before them, "alright, I want a small team to head into the ruins of the city to find the Rainbow Wing and the Silver Wing," Giovanni gave out his command as the admins along with a small group of rockets left battlefield to search for the item, "Jessie, James and Meowth head to the Ilex forest to get Celebi," Giovanni issued his next lot of commands.

"Dad you destroyed an entire city to find the legends of Johto?" Silver asked over and over again now seething with rage at his father's actions.

Giovanni recalled his two pokemon and walked towards the destroyed city to assist in the search for the prized items, "you're weak my son, if you truly wish to oppose me, then you need to get stronger," Giovanni told is son before leaving him where he was, punching the ground angered by his father's sacrifice of the city.

Salvia had returned to the crowd of people witnessing the destruction of the city, she witnessed the explosions in shock before an uneasy feeling coursed through her heart, she realized that Ash was nowhere to be found, she pushed through the masses of people but still had no luck finding him, "where is he?" Salvia asked herself while looking through the crowd of people, 'I won't be able to find him with this many people around,' Salvia thought as she spotted a strange trio walking casually towards the forest in the background.

Salvia used her Mew to teleport to the entrance of the forest, the rocket trio made it to the entrance of the forest with their mission ahead of them, it was then that they noticed a bluenette standing in the way of their mission, "get out of the way little girl," James demanded while calling out a two headed purple pokemon as his partner called out a black serpentine pokemon ready to face the royal in battle, "not giving up? Well we will just have to beat you into submission," James decreed with a smirk.

Salvia picked one of her pokeballs while looking down to see Raichu with his cheeks sparking with anticipation for a chance to battle, "right, let's go Raichu and Latios," Salvia called out her second pokemon to battle the rocket trio, 'I haven't faced these guys since Vermillion City,' Salvia thought as she glared at the trio while panting from exhaustion from the hard days battling, 'I am tired but it will not prevent me from defending Celebi,' Salvia thought as her team got ready to attack the opposing pokemon, "Raichu, attack with Thunderbolt and Latios use Luster Purge," Salvia instructed her pokemon with certainty.

The two pokemon unleashed their attacks, but team rocket remained calm, "Seviper, use Wrap on the little girl," Jessie instructed her pokemon, the fang snake pokemon easily dodged the attacks and headed straight for the princess.

"Weezing keep those two pokemon busy with Smokescreen," James commanded with a smirk.

The two opposing pokemon worked in perfect unison as Salvia was hit by the attack, she screamed out as the rocket trio laughed at her, "I refuse to give up, Raichu use Thunderbolt on Seviper now," Salvia decreed while trying to hold back from screaming out as the pain began to increase, she closed her eyes waiting for the electric attack to arrive, in a mere instant a powerful blast of electricity hit both Seviper and Salvia, the serpent pokemon let go of the princess but the bluenette collapsed due to the powerful electric attack.

"Fool, taking a powerful surge of electricity," James said while restarting the trio's journey to the forest, he watched in amazement as Salvia got up slowly before falling back on the ground, but was shocked to see her slowly make the attempt again, "it can't be, she took a powerful attack and is still willing herself up," James said while his mouth was agape.

Salvia was on her own two feet again breathing heavily and about ready to collapse again, "I said….. I wasn't going," Salvia started while struggling to maintain her footing, "to give up," Salvia said before taking a step ahead determined to stop Team Rocket, "Latios attack with Psychic and Raichu attack with Electro Ball," Salvia instructed stubbornly catching the rocket members off guard. The two pokemon under the royals command unleashed another powerful set of attacks this time landing and dealing immense damage on the two pokemon.

"Unbelievable she is still battling, she even defeated two of our strongest pokemon," Jessie said while they noticed Salvia dropping to one knee, they watched her getting back up still determined to face the rocket trio, "she isn't going to let us pass that easily," Jessie said with an angered look on her face.

'Ash, where are you?' Salvia questioned in thought as she got back to her feet again, "Raichu, repay them with Volt Tackle," Salvia told the electric pokemon. The electric mouse flew across the battlefield with a thunderous aura before slamming into Team Rocket and their pokemon sending the trio flying into the distance.

"Great I missed this, but it still feels really bad that it's happened again after all these years," Meowth said with a frown after looking down to see the young royal collapse to the ground.

"We're blasting off again!" the trio cried out in unison.

Meanwhile in the city Giovanni and the rest of Team Rocket were looking around for the two treasures, "sir, we are unable to find wings," one of the rockets reported with a grimace, while they were walking around the smoldering ruins of the large city.

"They should have been found by now, those items aren't easily destroyed!" Giovanni dictated with anger as he.

After an hour Team Rocket hadn't found the two items, "sir Jessie James and Meowth have been defeated," Archer reported with disdain causing Giovanni to glare at the admins with fury, "sir I recommend that we pull back for now," Archer said with a grimace knowing that their chance had passed.

"Fine, we pull back, but we need to find those two wings later, we need them to consolidate our power," Giovanni said with a frown signaling the retreat of Team Rocket, "we failed here," Giovanni declared before leaving the devastated city with the rest of Team Rocket.

Back at the crowd Salvia was sleeping in her tent, Salvia got up with an uneasy feeling in her heart, she looked at her current clothes and realized that they were falling apart, 'Raichu's attack fried my clothes,' Salvia thought as she decided to pull out Dawn's outfit from her backpack. After a while Salvia had emerged from her tent seeing Colin standing in the middle of the refugee camp talking to the three people she had met earlier in the day, she walked closer until she heard the unfortunate news from Cilan, 'no, not Ash,' Salvia thought as she turned around to run to the river front with tears rolling down her face.

Colin saw his friend and ran after her, "Lady Salvia, please come here," Colin requested but Salvia was too upset after hearing the news from the friends. Colin finally managed the catch up with his friend only to hear her sobbing over the loss of Ash, "Lady Salvia, no one could have survived such devastation," Colin reminded the princess but she continued to walk off towards the river front feeling like daggers went through her heart.

"You said you had a plan Ash," Salvia said before sitting down with her hands placed around her legs and her gaze fixed upon the water, "What make me think i can save an elderly person? when i can't save the one i love more than anything?" Salvia questioned herself as she pictured the trianer in the water's surface, "ASH!" Salvia screamed out for the trainer with her tears hitting the ground.

* * *

**I hope you all like this episode oh yeah the ending of this episode wasn't so bad (or was it)**

**Did Ash make it out safely with all the children? And what new plans does Team Rocket have in store for the pokemon world?**

**Next time Episode 10: Not over yet.**

**Yes I have some massive ideas in the story and they seem to be flowing in my mind like a freight train, which is amazing for you and for me, please read and review this story because I have a massive ending for this part of the journey coming up sooner than expected.**


	10. Not Over Yet

**Episode 36: Not over yet.**

_I bet you all thought the story was over in the last episode, yeah right as If I would let that happen._

* * *

Salvia sat at the lake front drowning out the noises of the people behind her and clamoring as something was occurring in the middle of the camp, the princess was ignoring every moment while continuing to shed tears for the loss of the one she loved, "Ash, you said you had a plan," Salvia repeated over and over against while placing her hands over her face as the sadness started to overwhelm her not moving an inch from the water's edge, she even ignored the words of her friend Colin who was showing even more concern knowing that it was starting to get cold.

Colin walked back to the camp before being pushed back by a sudden force in the middle of the camp, a group of children jumped out of the, "oh man I never thought we were going to get out of there," one of the kids complained before another group jumped out.

Colin looked down the hole with great surprise to see Ash looking up at him with a smile, "hi Colin," Ash said positively.

"Hmph, reckless as always," Colin said with a smile before extending his hand out to help the trainer out of the hole, "you know the princess is crying because she thinks she has lost you," Colin reminded the trainer of the state of mind the royal was in.

"Where is she?" Ash asked with a hint of guilt, "oh here take this, this might be of use to us later on," Ash pointed out while handing over a box to Colin, "we took a little longer because this box contains something important," Ash explained with a confident smirk.

"She is over by the water front," Colin replied to Ash's question while looking at the box.

Ash quietly walked over to the princess with a cheeky smile, he turned around and signaled for everyone to keep quiet, Ash listened to the princess sobbing loudly over what she thought had happened, suddenly she felt a tap on her left shoulder, "not now Colin," Salvia said while still crying when she felt a tap on her right shoulder, "Colin, I said not now," Salvia demanded with her frustration starting to show, but soon afterwards she felt another tap on her left shoulder. The girl got in anger, "Colin what did I say?" as she started to turn around, "I said leave….." Salvia started as she gawked at the person standing in front of her.

"I told you I had a plan," Ash said smugly before being embraced by the princess.

"Ash, I thought I lost you," Salvia pouted before her tears of sadness became tears of joy, she buried her head in the trainers chest, "you have no idea how worried I was."

"Well princess, I had something I needed to sort out," Ash said while placing his left hand in the bluenette's hair, she pulled back from the embrace and stomped her foot on the trainers causing him to hop around in pain, "what was that for?" Ash asked while hopping around in pain.

"What have I told you about calling me Princess? You made me worry so much about you," Salvia stated while hugging the trainer with a smile, "don't ever leave my side Ash," Salvia requested as the trainer nodded while petting royal's long blue hair, "how did you escape?" Salvia asked the trainer while the people in the background watch the two embrace with the full moon in the background.

_Flashback:_

"Come on kids we need to get out of here, the explosions will cause this place to cave in," Ash told the children while pining over to a part of the cave but some of the children were at one end of the cave looking at a box, "hey I said we need to move out," Ash declared with frustration, he spotted the box and walked over to it, he opened it with some assistance to find two feathers inside one with multiple colors and the with a silver color, "alright we are taking this with us," Ash dictated as he picked up the small box with his left hand.

A mostly brown pokemon stood ready to get the people out of the cave, "alright Excadrill start digging us out of here," one of the girls commanded quickly as the pokemon did as it was commanded. The pokemon easily plough through the ground leading the group through the ground not stopping for a moment.

"Alright kids, we need to follow Excadrill," Ash stated as they began to followed the powerful ground type pokemon, Ash walked behind them to make sure no one was going to get lost, "children you will also need to stay close," Ash instructed while trying to stay calm for the kids, "I hope you're doing fine Salvia," Ash said as the group continued on with the tunnel the subterrene pokemon continued to move through the ground easily, "hey little girl do you still have the torch?" Ash asked the kid in front of him, she nodded quietly and grabbed the item, "good, can you use it to light the way for the rest of us?" Ash requested with confidence in the little girl.

The group walked through the tunnel until the ground started to shake, "not good, if this continues we will be buried alive," Ash said with concern as an idea popped into his head, "Lucario, use Protect," Ash called out his pokemon, the aura pokemon immediately set up a barrier and surround the children with it preventing them from getting buried under the city.

"Ash I have a couple of questions for you, what is the name of the story?" another little girl asked with a smile while trying to keep from being scared.

"Name of the story, well I never thought of a name for it, how about Trainer and the Princess?" Ash replied as he smiled with pride in the name, "what about your next question?" Ash asked as he saw the barrier starting to break, "before we do that, does anyone here have a pokemon that knows protect?" Ash asked the group with concern as the dirt started to break through.

"Electabuzz, use protect," the little boy called out his pokemon while immediately calling for another barrier. The thunder pokemon set up the barrier protecting the people inside.

The little girl looked over to the trainer breathing a sigh of relief, "that's a nice name for your story," the girl remarked as the trainer chuckled a little in reply, "do you promise to come back to Goldenrod City to tell us more of the story?" the girl asked with a hopeful smile.

"I am sure the princess wouldn't mind," Ash said with a slight laugh, "plus I am sure you want to hear more from me later on," Ash remarked as the kids cheered a little bit, "I promise I will tell you more of the story," Ash promised them as they continued to walk through the tunnel with protect looking after them. 'I now know what I want after we settle down, Salvia are you thinking the same as me?' Ash wondered as he looked down at the children with confidence while a picture of Salvia passed through his mind.

Ash looked up to see the barrier was breaking, he nodded to his aura pokemon and continued to walk through the tunnel as the children continued to talk amongst themselves, Ash closed his eyes and sensed where they were, "alright tell Excadrill to dig up," Ash told the little boy at the front of the.

The little boy nodded in approval and ordered his parents pokemon to dig up, "so we're near the rest of the city folk?" one of the children asked with a smile.

"Yeah we don't need protect anymore," Ash replied with a little more confidence.

"Will we get to meet your princess?" one of the little boys asked with a cheeky grin.

Ash chuckled a little and nodded, "yeah, you will," Ash retorted with a smile.

_Return to the real world:_

"So you escaped from the cave in and took away Team Rocket's chance of victory in the city?" Salvia questioned the trainer as she sat closer to the trainer near the water front, "not only that you told the children a story, who were the main characters?" Salvia asked the trainer about his story causing the trainer to burst out in to laughter.

The raven haired trainer stopped laughing for a moment and stared at the princess with a proud grin, "that's easy, the main characters of that story is non-other than us," Ash replied while Salvia rested her head on the trainers shoulder, "so what happened to your other clothes? I see you're wearing Dawn's outfit," Ash enquired quietly.

Salvia looked towards the trainers sleeping Raichu, "your Raichu fried them during my defense of Ilex Forest, I was attacked by Jessie's Seviper and I had Raichu attack Seviper with Thunderbolt," Salvia explained what happened during her fight against Team Rocket.

Ash chuckled slightly, "I see, now you are starting to get a reckless as me," Ash remarked before looking up to the night sky, "well at least everyone is safe," Ash remarked as he closed his eyes, not long afterwards he opened them up to see Salvia staring at him.

"Ash, were you really thinking about the future?" Salvia asked as she continued to stare at Ash with a smile.

"Yeah I was, I was thinking about what it would be like for us to….. Um," Ash started while getting a little nervous at the question the princess was giving him.

"Come on Ash, you can tell me, not like it isn't bad or anything," Salvia remarked sweetly.

"You're right Salvia," Ash replied with a grin, "I was thinking about the day where we settle down and start our own little family," Ash said with embarrassment before laughing at himself about the declaration he made.

Salvia fell on to the ground laughing with Ash about what he had said, "you know when I was saving a bunch of children before the city was destroyed, I was thinking the same thing as you were," Salvia professed with a smile. Salvia moved in and looked into the trainers eyes again, "please Ash, don't do anymore reckless things," Salvia requested while moving a little closer.

"Can't be helped, I have always been like this," Ash said with a smile, "but what I do promise is I will always be there for you no matter what, when I get this stupid cast off, we will fight Team Rocket and your uncle," Ash promised as the royal giggled a little from her loves words.

"Ash, thanks for letting me into your future plans, I have decided I want to have both ways, save my kingdom along with my dad," Salvia explained her choice to Ash before pressing her lips against the trainers, the two kissed under the stars for a little while the crowd in the background were watching the two without them noticing.

Ash and Salvia pulled back for a moment and looked into one another's eyes lovingly, "so what about the second choice?" Ash asked his girlfriend with a smirk.

"To spend the rest of my life with you," Salvia declared her plans to the trainer with a sweet smile, "because I love you more than anything," Salvia expressed her love to the trainer before hearing the crowd clapping for them.

The two turned around with their faces now a bright red, as the crowd was clapping a woman with shoulder length pink hair approached the two, "that was beautiful," the woman said with tears rolling down her face.

"Whitney, why are you here?" Ash asked with a smile.

"Simple, I heard you want to face the pin masters, it just so happens to be a good thing because I am a pin master," Whitney pointed out with a clumsy smile as she looked up to the night sky, "so how about you and me have a battle tomorrow, entertain the people with a tough battle," Whitney challenged the trainer with supreme confidence.

"Sure thing, I will be more than happy to battle you tomorrow," Ash replied while standing up.

"But Ash your arm," Salvia showed concern for Ash, "your right arm is still hurt," Salvia pointed out with worry.

"Oh well, I still have my left arm," Ash said stubbornly as he looked over to his Raichu, "hey Whitney, my Raichu still needs some time to recover, I know it's against the rules but can we make it a five on five battle instead?" Ash asked Whitney with a hopeful smile.

Whitney nodded in approval as she walked back to the tent, "sure the people in charge don't need to know about the arranged five on five battle," Whitney explained confident that she was going to be in for a great battle, "does best three out of five sound good to you?" Whitney asked the trainer, he nodded his head approving of the stipulations of the match against the gym leader.

"Are you sure about this?" Salvia asked the trainer with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Yeah I want to battle, my right arm will be just fine," Ash said with confidence while walking off towards the camp leaving the princess to watch him walking off, "oh and Salvia, I love you too," Ash returned her love with an assured tone.

_Ten hours later._

The lines were set the people walked to the side of the battle field set up by the gym leader and pin master, Ash got ready to face off against Whitney confident he would win the battle, "Ash, are you ready to battle?" Whitney asked as the people's anticipation began to build, they knew the gym leader was strong but weren't certain of what kind of trainer Ash was, "let's give these people a great show," Whitney promised with a smile while holding out one of her pokeballs, Salvia walked up to the side of the battlefield, "Salvia, will you do the honors of being the referee?" Whitney asked the bluenette happily.

"This battle will be fun," Ash said with a smirk while picking a pokeball from his belt with his left hand.

"Girafarig, time to battle," Whitney called out a a brown and yellow pokemon to the battle, "show me your first pokemon," Whitney chided Ash with a smile.

"Right you asked for it, Staraptor I choose you," Ash called out a large bird like pokemon with confidence.

The two pokemon glared at each other ready to battle each other for their trainers, Salvia signaled for the battle to begin, the fans anticipated a tough battle and waited for the two trainers to start things off, "alright Girafarig, start things off with Psybeam," Whitney commanded with confidence.

"Staraptor dodge the attack then use Aerial Ace," Ash instructed his pokemon quickly. The flying type pokemon flew up dodging the attack with his superior agility; he quickly eyed the long neck pokemon and charged towards the opposing pokemon.

"Use Crunch now," Whitney ordered in panic, her pokemon turned around but before the attack could land Staraptor slammed into the normal type with incredible force knocking it back a little, "he has gotten better since the last battle," Whitney said under her breath, her pokemon got up from the powerful attack and nodded ready to fight the more powerful pokemon, "Alright Girafarig attack with stomp," Whitney instructed her pokemon while the crowd was cheering loudly in the background and Salvia was keeping an eye on the battle as an umpire.

"Staraptor, finish this with Brave Bird," Ash called out for the next attack.

Girafarig jumped up into the air while Staraptor flew up before surrounding his body with bright blue flames, the powerful pokemon charged towards each other before smashing into one another with their devastating attacks, Staraptor flew towards his trainer with red sparks surrounding the flying type pokemon while Girafarig crashed to the ground due to the impact of the two attacks, "No Girafarig," Whitney called out to her pokemon. It tried to get back up but collapsed again, Salvia signified the defeat of Girafarig giving Ash the first round of the battle.

Ash and Whitney both recalled their pokemon and got ready to call out their next pokemon of their respective teams, "Tauros, time to battle," Whitney called out a mostly brown bull like pokemon.

"I remember the fact that I caught thirty Tauros in the Kanto Safari Zone," Ash said with a chuckle, "Bayleef I choose you," Ash called out his grass type pokemon.

Salvia began the battle while the crowd began to cheer for the two trainers again, the bull pokemon whipped his three tails around glaring at the grass type pokemon, "let's start this battle, Tauros attack with Zen Headbutt," Whitney instructed her pokemon to attack in the second round. The normal type charged towards Ash's pokemon with his head lowered.

"Alright Beyleef, attack with Vine Whip," Ash told his pokemon, the grass type unleashed an unforgiving two vines which grabbed a hold of the charging bull in place, "well done Bayleef, now attack with Razor Leaf," Ash ordered with more confidence, in that moment a jolt of pain shot up Ash's right arm causing him to grab ahold of it with his left hand.

The grass type unleashed a powerful barrage of leaves at the normal type before letting go of Tauros, "Dodge it hurry," Whitney commanded with panic. The powerful bull like pokemon dodged the attack and charged towards the leaf pokemon, "Giga Impact now!" Whitney yelled out while punching the air in front of her with supreme confidence, Tauros charged towards grass type now surround with orange streaks.

Ash looked up to give his command to the grass type but it was too late the attack landed dealing significant damage to Bayleef, "oh no Bayleef!" Ash yelled out in horror as his pokemon collapsed in front of him, the leaf pokemon slowly before falling again from the force of the attack, Salvia lifted her arm up knowing that Ash had lost the round, "great, my arm is still in bad shape," Ash told himself while recalling his fallen pokemon from the battle.

"Ash if your arm is bothering you, then forfeit this battle and wait to heal up," Whitney instructed Ash with a smile, "there is nothing wrong with that," Whitney said while recalling her pokemon.

"Choose your next pokemon," Ash replied while picking his next pokeball still reeling from the pain in his arm.

Whitney let out a sigh before shrugging her shoulders, "alright then, Clefable, time to battle," Whitney called out her third pokemon to battle.

"Metagross, I choose you," Ash called forth his next pokemon in the battle. The monstrous steel type looked over to the smaller pokemon and got ready for the command, "start things off with Meteor Mash," Ash called out for the first attack of the round, the turquoise pokemon charged towards the normal type with a glowing leg.

"Flamethrower," Whitney called out calmly as the iron leg pokemon got much closer, the fairy pokemon sent out a flurry of flames towards the steel type pokemon, the fire type move made impact dealing great damage to Metagross, "you're too hurt to focus on this battle," Whitney said with concern for the trainers safety, "even your Metagross is showing concern," Whitney pointed out as the red eyes of the pokemon scanned towards Ash.

"Metagross I will be fine," Ash said with a broad smile, "Metagross attack with Zen Headbutt," Ash told his pokemon while enduring the pain.

The large psychic pokemon charged towards the normal type pokemon with a glowing along the way.

"Alright dodge the attack then use Flamethrower again," Whitney ordered with a confident smirk, the fairy pokemon barely dodged the attack and unleashed a powerful blast of flames at the steel type dealing even more damage, "alright, one more round and I win this battle," Whitney said while cheering her pokemon on, but as the smoke cleared she noticed that the powerful steel type was still standing and ready to battle, "what no way," Whitney gasped in shock as the iron leg pokemon got ready to attack again.

"Metagross attack with Meteor Mash," Ash ordered with a smile.

"End this round with Thunder," Whitney told her pokemon.

While Metagross charged towards the opposing pokemon with a glowing leg the Clefable unleashed a mighty blast of electricity against the psychic pokemon, Ash watched in shock as his pokemon took a powerful blast of electricity before even landing a hit on the fairy pokemon, Clefable fellback after the hit, "wow knocked out in one hit," Whitney said but also noticed that Metagross was also taken out of the battle with a powerful electric attack.

The crowd began to cheer for Ash as he recalled his mighty pokemon from the battle, "time to continue, Dragonite, I choose you," Ash called out a powerful green dragon type pokemon with a smile much to the surprise of the crowd, "yes a Dragonite of a different color," Ash said while the crowd began to clap at the sight of a rare pokemon.

"Alright then Ash, go Stoutland," Whitney called out her fourth pokemon to the battle.

Salvia looked at the trainer with concern as he grasped his right arm, "Ash there is no need for you to battle now," Salvia told the trainer as she started to walk up to the trainer with a worried look in her eyes.

"No Salvia, I want to battle, my arm is fine, it only hurts a little," Ash dictated preventing Salvia from getting any closer, "Dragonite attack with Dragon Claw," Ash told his pokemon while enduring the pain in his right arm.

"Use Ice Fang now," Whitney called for the counter attack against the massive pokemon. The two pokemon charged towards each other connecting with their respective attack, Stoutland was quickly overpowered by the dragon pokemon, falling towards the gym leader, 'wow he has gotten stronger,' Whitney thought while trying to concentrate over the noise that was being made by the fans, "Stoutland, are you alright," Whitney asked the big heart pokemon, the normal type stood up and let out a roar to signify the dog like pokemon was able to continue the fight, "good, now Stoutland use Hyper Beam," Whitney called for the next attack of the battle.

"Dragonite wait for the chance to strike," Ash said while maintaining his cool in the battle, the dog like pokemon unleashed a powerful yellow and red beam at the trainer's dragon type. Dragonite stood there waiting for the command, "dodge it now," Ash instructed with a smile. The large dragon flapped its powerful wings and took off barely missing the devastating attack, "I have been waiting to use this move," Ash said with a smirk as his dragon type nodded happily, "Draco Meteor," Ash called out for the attack.

The dragon type built up the energy as the crowd watched stunned that they were about to witness a powerful attack, a large ball of orange energy appeared above Dragonite's mouth before being unleashed into the sky, the ball of energy split up and came crashing down onto the recharging opponent, "Stoutland no!" Whitney screamed out in horror as he pokemon took the powerful attack and with dust rising preventing anyone from seeing the result, the mighty dragon let out a roar of celebration while the crowd waited to see the dust clearing.

Ash, Whitney and Salvia waited for the dust to settle until they noticed that Stoutland was no longer able to battle, "the winner of this round is Dragonite," Salvia declared while raising her hand for Ash's end.

Ash recalled his dragon type while Whitney recalled her fallen pokemon, "not bad Ash, but I wonder if you remember this pokemon, Go Miltank," Whitney called out a cow like pokemon colored mostly pin pokemon with black spots, "remember when you first faced this pokemon? She took out three of your pokemon with one move," Whitney reminisced with happily.

"Yeah I remember the same three were the ones that defeated that same Miltank," Ash replied while holding his final pokeball, "but this time, I only need one to defeat your Miltank," Ash remarked while throwing out his final pokeball, "Lucario, I choose you."

"This will be good," Whitney grinned at the trainer and his pokemon, "start things off with Defense Curl," Whitney ordered quickly. Her pokemon rolled into a ball increasing the defense.

"Don't think for a second that I don't know about Roll Out," Ash said while he nodded at his pokemon, "use Aura Sphere," Ash knowingly commanded, as the opposing Miltank increased her defense the aura pokemon push it's palms together and created a ball of aura, the ball of aura was thrown at the normal type sending her rolling towards her trainer.

"What no way, this pokemon is more powerful than expected," Whitney said while looking on in shock, "Roll Out now Milty," Whitney ordered her pokemon in panic.

"Protect now," Ash called out for the defensive move hurriedly, as the normal type rolled towards the fighting type it placed a powerful barrier to prevent any damage from occurring, "now hit it with Aura Sphere again," Ash called for the next attack, the cow like pokemon fell back and was hit but a mighty sphere of fighting energy, the normal type fell to the ground knocked out after just two attacks leaving Whitney in shock.

"Wow, you have become one tough battler Ash," Whitney pointed out with a little sadness creeping in, "the people had a great time watching our battle and I learnt I need to get stronger," Whitney explained while walking up to the trainer.

Salvia walked up to the trainer with a proud smile, "you know that battle was great," Salvia stated proudly.

"Here Ash, take the Normal Pin, okay I don't have a good name for it but you have earned it," Whitney said happily while the crowd applauded the trainer.

The kids walked up to the trainer happy to see that he won the battle, "that was awesome!" the children yelled in unison, they looked over to the princess happily and walked up to her.

"Wow, Ash was right, you're really pretty," one of the little girls said while the princess looked over to Ash with a nervous look on her face, "one day I hope to be a pretty as you are," she said with boundless energy.

"Oh come on, Ash is only saying that to make a good story," Salvia pointed out modestly.

Ash watched in laughter as the children surrounded the royal, "Ash, can I have a word with you?" Cilan asked the trainer quietly. "I have decided to stay here and help with the rebuilding," Cilan explained his plans to the trainer while remaining quiet, "I think it would be best that you continue your journey with Salvia, just the two of you," Cilan remarked calmly while the two watched Salvia talking to the little children, "here Ash, the photo album, Misty and I have added a fair few pictures on our journey with you," Cilan confessed with a proud smile before walking off towards the rest of the group.

"I will be sure to share this with Salvia when the time is right," Ash told himself while watching the young royal sitting down chatting to the children, 'it is so good to see her relaxed, so good to see that beautiful smile," Ash said with happiness.

_Two Days later_

"Now remember you two, please look out for each other," Cilan said while letting Ash and the princess know of his concerns.

"And please remember your promise Ash, come back to finish your story," the children instructed Ash at the same time.

"It's a promise," Ash replied before walking away from the city with the princess leaving behind Cilan and the people of the city, "you know Salvia I feel really guilty leaving the people to rebuild their city and not help them," Ash professed sadly while taking two feather shaped items out of his left jeans pocket.

"Yes I know, but Colin and Cilan said we need to continue our journey, they will help with the restoration of the city," Salvia explained while walking on a head, "where to next?" Salvia asked the trainer.

"To rescue my mom and your dad," Ash said while catching up to the princess, with Raichu running alongside his trainer, towards the next destination through the tree lined route and grassy fields.

* * *

**The final pin battle of the region is out of the way, now the focus leads to the rescue of their loved ones.**

**Next episode will be a little fluffy because of a special event.**

**Next time episode 37: Ash's special day**


	11. Ash's Special Day

**Episode 37: Ash's special day.**

_This episode will be a little fluffy; a break from the fast paced last three episodes before we head back into some more action._

_Ash: 18_

_Yes that's right ladies and gents this is Ash's birthday episode._

* * *

Ash and Salvia had been traveling on their own no one there to spoil the moments they wanted to spend together. Getting the chance to see the Ruins of Alph and getting the chance to look at the stars together, camping on their own without their friends sitting with them, 'not too long before Ash's birthday,' Salvia thought as she looked towards the trainer with a faint smile, 'what do I get him?' Salvia wondered as she looked up to see the stars as thought started to cross her mind, 'how about something to represent how I feel about him?' the royal thought while looking at her finger to see a diamond ring standing out in her mind.

"Salvia, you haven't been yourself for a couple of days," Ash stated quietly leaving the princess to look away nervously, "is there a problem?" Ash asked the bluenette causing her to force a yawn and walk back to the tent, 'I know the problem, my birthday is really close,' Ash thought while the princess walked up to her tent and opened it, "Salvia, don't worry too much about my birthday, I already have what I want," Ash told the princess who was ignoring Ash's last comment.

'No Ash, really want to get you something nice,' Salvia thought while sitting down in her tent, "I don't want anything for my birthday, but I know you will get me something even if I don't ask for it," Salvia whispered to herself while closing up her tent.

Looking up to the night sky Ash knew that Salvia was continuing to stress about what to get him for his birthday, 'I wonder how my mom is doing,' Ash thought while hearing the sounds of the night time pokemon singing out while the bright moon was hanging in the sky, 'well I better get some sleep,' Ash thought while standing up to walk back to his tent, before he entered his tent he was listening to Salvia's thoughts.

"I really want to get him something Colin," Salvia said quietly not knowing that Ash was outside her tent listening to her conversation.

"Well Lady Salvia, I can't help you with that, that is something you will find out on your own," Colin said as he noticed Salvia beginning to cry, "don't get too disheartened, I am certain Ash would be happy with anything you get him, or maybe he already has it," Colin said wisely making the princess happy watching her dry up her tears, "much better, let me ask you, what do you have in mind?" Colin asked his friend with a smile as he looked over his shoulder to see how the people were going, "well I better get back to work," Colin stated before switching off his call.

"Thank you Colin," Salvia said silently before getting into her sleeping bag.

Ash looked away with a frown after hearing Salvia's conversation with Colin, "wow, she is determined to get me something," Ash told himself while entering the tent to get some sleep.

_Whirlpool Island_

Delia sat in her prison cell having a hard time sleep, she looked over to the king who was staring outside the window thinking about someone, "Brian, who are you thinking about?" Delia asked the king quietly.

"I am thinking about my wife Queen Emma and my only daughter Salvia," the king retorted sadly as he looked over to his friend, "what about you? Surely you're thinking of your son," Brian enquired while sitting on his bed.

"Yes his birthday is very soon," Delia pointed out with sorrow, before she jumped at the sounds coming from further in the castle, "Brian, What could be going on?" Delia asked the king with uncertainty.

The king shook his head while more of the sounds resonated through the castle, "no idea Delia, it has been going on for some time now," Brian replied with a worried look on his face, 'knowing my brother it probably has something to do with harnessing the power of Darkrai,' the king thought while remembering his daughter, "whatever he is planning, it can't be good," Brian pointed out as the cold temperature started to get to the duo in their prison cell.

"So is he experimenting with something?" Delia questioned as an uneasy feeling ran down her back while she looked over to the king concerned about what Chris had in store for the.

"It seems like he is going to use either of us to get to our children," Brian said while he rested on the supplied bed, 'Chris if you hurt my daughter or Ash, you will pay for it tenfold,' Brian thought while closing his eyes while hearing the cries of Delia, he looked at the corner of his eye took a glimpse at the mother who had her head buried in her hands, 'she really wanted to see him for his birthday,' Brian pondered with a frown, "hey Delia, how old will Ash be?" Brian asked quietly.

"It will be his eighteenth birthday," Delia replied still crying. "What is Chris does something to me? I think I am the target here," Delia remarked while resting on her bed.

"Don't worry I have a plan, it also means that I may need to invoke one of the laws of my kingdom," Brian said with a confident smirk, "I think I know what he intends to do, but it will mean nothing if I invoke a law that I set up in case of something like this, but I always thought of it as a last resort," Brian clarified while placing his hands behind his head.

"Thank you Brian," Delia said while feeling more assured.

_Near Ecruteak City:_

The sun was beating down on the camp waking up the trainer from his slumber, he opened up to get Salvia up, he found that her tent was pack up and that she was nowhere to be seen, "oh no she is gone," Ash said while panicking during his own pack up of the camp site, he rushed it a little even with one arm, but before he could finish Salvia was walking towards him.

Salvia handed Ash a bowl of food, "here I bet you're hungry," Salvia assumed sweetly.

Ash took the bowl and started to eat his food, "thanks Salvia, but where were you?" Ash questioned the royal while feeling more settled.

The two sat down to eat their breakfast, "I went to prepared our breakfast," Salvia announced before putting some food in her mouth, they ate their meals peacefully while watching the pokemon play in the fields, they ate politely not making a noise, Salvia watched the trainer eating his food, 'I will find you a gift,' Salvia thought as she watched the trainer eating some more of his breakfast, "you know Ash, I was really impressed with your battle," Salvia remarked while picking up her bowl and walked off to clean it up.

Salvia looked back to see the trainer looking over to his Raichu, 'not only your birthday but Christmas is almost here," Salvia said with a smile, 'but first I want to get something for your birthday,' Salvia thought while gazing over to the trainer.

After packing up their camping gear with Salvia doing most of the work, they walked up to the city with the wind picking up whipping the royal's blue hair around, "so Salvia, what do you intend to do in Ecruteak City?" Ash asked knowing that he wasn't going to get a favorable reply.

"Nothing Ash, I will be getting some food for our next part of our journey," Salvia tried to lie to Ash while scratching her head nervously, "plus I want to do something for Colin," Salvia continued to lie.

Ash started laughing at the noble, "you know, you're a bad liar," Ash pointed out while still laughing at the young girl.

Salvia placed her hands on her hips and pouted at Ash, "really?" Salvia asked the trainer, "well then what do you intend to do when we get to the next city?" Salvia asked with a cheeky grin.

Ash looked over to his Raichu quickly before turning his gaze to the crown princess, "well, um… nothing at all," Ash replied while trying to hide his smile from the haired girl.

Salvia started laughing at Ash and turned towards the city entrance, "nothing ha? Sounds like you plan to do something while we're in Ecruteak City," Salvia assumed while smiling at the trainer, the two walked into the city to see that the two towers dominate the sky line and the many different shops with the people buying last minute gifts for their loved ones, "if you follow me today, I will never forgive you," Salvia remarked before running off hopeful of finding Ash a present, leaving him to stare in amazement at what she had just said in that instance.

Ash walked to another part of the city noticing that it had snowed a little, "you know buddy, Salvia is determined to get me something," Ash told his partner pokemon who was walking next to him, the two walked around alone to see if they could find Salvia something for Christmas, the shops were full with people looking for the perfect bargain, he continued to move from shop to shop not finding the best gift for the princess, "it seems like getting her something will be a difficult task," Ash said while drooping his head in shame while still he continued to go to different shops.

Ash looked around in a particular shop, seeing many different dresses until he spotted one that would suit the royal, luckily for him he remembered the last outfit and what size it was, "excuse me, is there something I can do for you?" the female attendant asked with a bright smile.

Ash nodded happily as he pointed to the dress, "yeah I am looking for the perfect gift for my girlfriend and I am having a really hard time of it," Ash explained his situation to the attendant as she looked at the pretty dress. Ash looked at the pink dress with a white waist band to complete the set, Ash looked at the price for a quick moment and put it back, "wow this dress costs a lot," Ash said with a frown before picturing the royal in a dress, 'but she would look really pretty in this dress,' Ash thought while hesitating to pick up the dress.

"Seems like you are having a hard time finding something for her," the woman said with a sorry look in her eyes.

Ash continued to look at the dress and nodded, 'she is a royal, maybe something different,' Ash thought as he walked out of the shop now know what need to be done, he walked away from the shop and towards the Pokemon Center confident he had the perfect idea for Salvia, "Raichu, I want to get Salvia a pokemon," Ash declared with a smile as he continued his journey to the Pokemon Center. Ash walked into the medical facility and approached the video phone to ring up the professor.

Ash waited for the professor to pick up the phone while the people inside were decorating the pokemon center, "hello Ash," an elderly professor greeted Ash after he appeared on the phone, "so how is your Christmas shopping going?" Professor enquired with a smile before being smothered by Ash's Muk.

"Professor, I would like for you to take one of my pokemon for a little while," Ash replied as he held out one of his pokeballs, "I will be sending you Bayleef," Ash said with a smile.

"What about your Master's challenge?" the professor asked curiously.

"Nothing to worry about, I have already gotten all the pins in this region," Ash replied proudly as he placed the pokeball on the device next to him, he looked around to see if Salvia was in the pokemon center, "I want to get Salvia a pokemon," Ash said happily, "and I have a pretty good idea what one I want to get her," Ash proclaimed as the pokeball teleported away to the professor's lab.

"Ah, something special for the princess," Oak teased the trainer causing him to blush a little.

"Yeah, buying her something wouldn't be right," Ash replied to the professor's enquiry, the pokeball teleported away leaving Ash with five pokemon at his side, 'I know Salvia has five pokemon with her at the moment,' Ash thought while Professor Oaktried to break away from ash's Muk, "thanks professor, I need to find the pokemon for Salvia, oh and have a great christmas," Ash said before getting ready to hang up the phone.

"You have a great Christmas too," Oak said while hanging up the phone

Ash walked out of the medical facility to search for the pokemon he wanted to catch, "alright Raichu, we need to find a Roselia," Ash declared while heading to a grassy patch not too far from the city.

While Ash was looking around Salvia was searching for her gifts to Ash, "let's see Christmas is just around the corner and his birthday is really close as well," Salvia remarked as she walked out of a jewelers, she turned around to see a particular item that caught her interest, "he is brave and proud, that pokemon on the pendant seems really proud," Salvia said as she looked at the price on display, she moved closer to the display cabinet before a male attendant walked up to her.

"You know what that pokemon is?" the man asked the princess, she shook her head while looking at the item, "that pokemon is Braviary, a really brave and proud pokemon from the Unova region," the man said piquing the royal's interest.

"You see there is someone I know that is brave and proud, but I have no idea what to get him," Salvia said while sulking for a moment.

"Well Christmas is really soon, so this might be the perfect gift for him," the man said with a smile.

"No not for Christmas, for his birthday," Salvia replied while keeping her eye on the item, "I will buy it for him," Salvia declared her interest while the man looked at her in shock, "nothing to worry about, I am from a rich family," Salvia pointed out she walked to the front counter after the man picked up the item and paid for the item in full, she opened the box and looked at the item proudly knowing that she had gotten Ash something really nice, she left the shop but wasn't finished with getting more gifts for Ash, she looked around further hoping to find a nice gift for him.

She eventually spotted a bakery where there were many different cakes, 'no I want to bake my own cake for Ash,' the princess thought proudly as she left the bakery window to head to another shop, she continued to look around as the dark clouds started to gather, she looked up to see it lightly snowing and the people singing the Christmas carols, 'wow, may this place is amazing,' Salvia quietly reminded herself while listening to the song people on the street were performing, 'this sure trumps the amount of Christmas memories I have had at the palace,' Salvia thought while remembering the Christmas' she had at the palace.

It was starting to get a little cold and the snow was starting to get a little heavier and the winds were blowing lightly causing the princess to feel the cold, 'geez Dawn, how do you where this stuff during winter?' Salvia wondered while crossing her arms to keep warm, she walked on with the singers performing in the background and the people playing in the small pockets of snow that had fallen in the area. She even noticed people holding a huge number of bags while walking with their loved ones, wanting to surprise their little children with gifts they got them for Christmas, "I sure miss my dad," Salvia told herself wanting to see him again for Christmas, she went into another shop to find a Christmas gift for Ash, 'but the closest I have to family is Ash,' Salvia thought while entering into a shop filled with many great items, she went to the pokeball section to have a look around, she spotted a rare pokeball colored purple with pink circles on the top half, "I have never seen this pokeball before," Salvia commented quietly as a woman approached her.

"That's because that pokeball is known as a Master Ball, we only have one of these in stock," the woman stated as she pulled out the device from the cabinet, the ball was inside a small black box while it was shown to the royal, "this pokeball can capture any pokemon without fail," she pointed out while showing her the insignia on the ball.

"I will buy it, I know someone who would love to have this," Salvia said happily as she followed the attendant to the front counter with the Master Ball in hand, she bought the item and walked out of the shop.

_The next day:_

Ash sat in the Pokemon Center waiting for Salvia to arrive, he had failed on three occasions to capture the pokemon, "knowing Salvia she will not let me leave the Pokemon Center," Ash told himself while looking around for the noble who hadn't shown herself since she returned late the day before, Ash looked from a window to see the snow covered ground in front of the medical facility, "I will get my chance tomorrow, I might not be able to get her a pokemon, but maybe there is something I can get her," Ash said as he remembered Salvia complaining about how cold it was outside, it was then he had a really nice idea, 'I will get her a winter jacket to keep warm," Ash thought with a smile, sneaking out of the medical facility careful to not alert the princess of leaving the Pokemon Center.

While Ash was sneaking out of the Pokemon Center Salvia was making the final preparations on Ash's birthday cake, she was humming a few notes while looking at the three boxes she had gift wrapped for Ash, 'I know this is weird but I don't want him opening this one straight away,' Salvia thought as she looked at the largest box of the three, "but this one is for Christmas while the last one is for his Birthday," Salvia told herself as she waited for the cake to cool down after being in the oven for so long.

Salvia walked into her room and placed two of the gift wrapped boxes in her bag, she looked at the box and smiled, I know you will love this one," Salvia said with pride as she walked back to the kitchen to decorate the cake.

The princess walked into the kitchen and approached the cake, she looked at it for a moment proud of her achievements, "I hope you like this," Salvia told herself hoping everything would go well, she began decorating the cake with the best of her abilities but it all turned out to be a mess for her, she looked at the picture in her book noticing that it wasn't right, "oh no, I made a mess of it," Salvia complained but she knew there was no time for her to start another cake and decorate it.

After a while she placed the cake on a plate and started to walk out of the cake and the gift, walked to the main foyer to see if Ash was still around the place was totally decorated for Christmas and the tree was up colored with the many different lights, "where is he?" Salvia asked while searching for the trainer.

Suddenly a familiar person walked into the medical facility with a large gift wrapped box under his arms, he ran towards the hallway and quickly into his room.

After placing the box in his room he walked back to the table he was sitting at with Raichu only to see a plate with a large cake in front of him, "phew I made it back in time," Ash breathed a sigh of relief before looking around to see Salvia approaching him, "oh hi Salvia, sorry there was something I needed to do," Ash said while scratching his head nervously.

The girl pouted and placed her hands on her hips, "so where did you go Ash?" Salvia asked the trainer feeling upset that her boyfriend left the Pokemon Center, "what was in that box?" Salvia questioned the trainer while getting closer to the trainer.

He began to get nervous as she continued to interrogate him, "nothing at all Salvia," Ash replied with a faint smile.

Salvia got into Ash's face and smiled at him, "you know you're a bad liar," Salvia pointed out before taking the seat next to him, she looked over to the cake and pulled out a small box from her pocket, "happy Birthday Ash," Salvia said before handing the small box to Ash.

Ash unwrapped the small box and looked at the young royal with a smile, "I wonder what's inside," Ash said with a smile, he opened the small box to see a golden necklace with a gold Braviary at the end, "wow I never thought I would get something so nice," Ash said as he picked up the item with his left hand, "you know I am going to have a difficult time putting it on," Ash remarked as he looked over to the princess and handed it to the princess.

"Alright I will put it on for you," Salvia remarked happily she took the item and placed around Ash's neck, after slowly putting it on Salvia moved back to her seat and looked at the chain that was now on her love, "wow it really suits you," Salvia said happily as she helped Ash cut the cake, "I did my best," Salvia said with a frown as she gave Ash a slice.

Ash took a bite and smiled at the bluenette, "you know this tastes really good," Ash said before noticing a small bit of icing on Salvia's face, "you even made a mess of yourself," Ash said while placing his left on the royal's face to remove the icing.

"I worked really hard to make this cake for," Salvia confessed before being handed a slice of cake, "but I made it for you," Salvia said in shock, looking at the cake in front of her.

"The reason why you should have some, I don't mind sharing some with you," Ash declared happily, the royal looked at the cake and smiled silently thanking the trainer for his generosity, "I can't eat it all by myself," Ash remarked as he watched the princess pick up the cake and start eating it. He watched her enjoy the cake she had baked with all her heart, "seems like you like what you made," Ash stated happily before taking another bite of the cake.

Ash and Salvia were enjoying their slice of cake before noticing the people walking towards the window, "seems like the snow is getting heavier," Salvia pointed out while picking up the plate with the cake.

"Salvia, I have an idea, let's head to the fireplace, there is one in a separate area of the Pokemon Center," Ash suggested happily.

The two walked towards the fire place of the medical facility and opened the door, they looked around to see no one was around, "they seem busy with the snow," Salvia said with relief as the two walked to see the fire roaring at the end of the room. The two sat down with the cake in front of them, "much better than being cold all day," Salvia said feeling the heat of the fire.

"Thanks for the present Salvia and the awesome cake," Ash thankfully told the princess as the princess grabbed a fork, "you know one day we will go out into the snow together," Ash said with a smile before Salvia pushed some of the cake in his mouth to prevent him talking some more.

"Now, that will keep you from suggesting that I go out into the cold air," Salvia said with a cheeky smile before removing the fork from the trainers mouth.

Ash finished the mouthful of cake, "yeah but you went out yesterday and it was really cold," Ash argued with a smirk.

"Yeah but I wanted to get you something nice," Salvia returned the argument a she pointed to the chain around the trainers neck.

"And I really appreciate it," Ash said with joy as he held the piece of gold in his left hand, "even though I said not to worry about getting me something for my birthday, you still went out of your way to do so," Ash commented while turning his gaze to the royal, "the truth is I have a better gift," Ash confessed while staring at the princess' bright blue eyes.

"Really, what is a better gift for you?" Salvia asked the trainer, the trainer chuckled for a moment and looked towards the fire, "please tell me," Salvia demanded while pouting at the trainer.

Ash saw that Salvia's hands were on his injured arm and looking hopefully at him wanting to know what Ash meant by the better gift, "I have you and that is plenty enough for me," Ash replied before picking up a piece with a fork and placing it in the royal's mouth, "you see it's better to share something with the person you love, isn't it?" Ash stated while the princess ate the cake.

After eating the piece of cake Salvia looked at Ash with a shocked expression, hearing the words ringing in her mind, "Ash, is that how you really feel?" Salvia asked while her face brightened, "I never wanted a present from you, because you're all that I want," Salvia confessed with a smile.

"Well yeah, you have taught me so much during our journey, I mean you showed me the joys of reading," Ash explained while walking towards the entrance of the room, "I will be back soon," Ash declared before exiting the room.

After a few minutes Ash returned with a red book under his left arm, "that was quick," Salvia observed as the trainer sat back down next to her, "what is this book?" Salvia asked the trainer while noticing the smile on his face.

"Memories Salvia," Ash replied as he opened the book to show Salvia the photos inside, "Dawn, Cilan and Misty have followed us on our travels and have taken pictures of us," Ash joyfully stated while Ash and Salvia turned the pages over to see the different pictures of them during their journey, Ash proudly looked at the photos while Salvia shed a few tears of joy knowing how much this journey has meant to her.

The couple sat in the middle of the room looking at the photo album and sharing what remained of the cake with each other, Salvia kissed Ash on the cheek and grinned at her love, "thanks for the memories Ash, I hope to share many more with you," Salvia whispered in the trainers ear before picking herself up, she walked to the exit of the room, before she open the door she decided against walking out, she walked back with a blanket in hand and sat down next to Ash and shared the blanket with Ash, "Happy Birthday Ash," Salvia said sweetly before falling asleep next to the trainer.

"Thank you Salvia," Ash said quietly while closing the photo album, 'many more memories to share with you,' Ash thought while letting the princess sleep next to him.

* * *

**Okay this episode is done and dusted, one more celebration to go, then we will get back into 2 more episodes action sequences, followed by a dramatic two part finale, with a twist in the tail of this series.**

**What other item did Salvia get for Ash? And what is Chris planning?**

**Next time Episode 37: Ash and Salvia's first Christmas.**

**The Johto saga is coming to an end followed by the Unova Saga. That Saga will be action packed, I have some big things to occur in that saga and it should hopefully start with a bang.**


	12. Ash and Salvia's first Christmas

**Episode 38: Ash and Salvia's first Christmas**

_Yes another special chapter this time Ash and Salvia will be spending Christmas together before the final battles of Johto, I would also like to apologize for the previous chapter, I put the one before it on by mistake and has now been fixed to contain the intended chapter._

* * *

Ash sat at the Pokemon Center while looking at his Birthday present given to him by Salvia who was sitting in front of the fire trying to keep warm, Ash walked back into the room and smiled at her, she was talking to her royal friend finding out how things were going in Goldenrod City, "I gave Ash a great Birthday present," Salvia told Colin proudly while sitting there with the light of her X-transceiver lighting the room around her, "but he told me the best gift he could ask for was me," Salvia repeated Ash's words to Colin.

"I kind of expected that, Ash really does love you , when he told me about his arm and protecting you from the Gyrados, I knew then and there that he would do anything for you," Colin explained while the princess heard in surprise with her cheeks turning red, "I even saw it in Viridian City back when you two first started your journey," Colin mentioned his point of view to the princess while looking over his shoulder, "I will be heading to Olivine a little later, I need to assist in helping the king," Colin declared his intentions to his friend.

"Yes but what about the people?" Salvia asked in concern.

"Everything is going alright, we actually have people coming from the Kanto region and from other cities of this region out," Colin explained with pride at how fast the recovery of the city was going.

Salvia smiled before turning around to see Ash standing in the door way, "Colin, we will see you soon," Salvia sent her last message to the royal guard before closing off the call, she stood up and approached the trainer, "so what will we do tomorrow?" Salvia asked the trainer while grabbing the cast which had already been there for nearly two weeks,

"Tomorrow is Christmas, I intend to have a great Christmas, but there are some things missing like our families," Ash said with a grimace, he lifted his head and looked towards the fire that had been renewed earlier in the day, "hey I have an idea," Ash suggested with a hopeful smile.

"We send food to the people of Goldenrod City?" Salvia asked the trainer as he heard in shock, "great minds think alike don't they Ash?" Salvia questioned the trainer joyfully.

"Yeah they do, so how about we get a couple of boxes together today and send our Dragonites to give the food to the people of Goldenrod City?" Ash enquired with a smile, the princess nodded then grabbed his left hand and pulled him out of the room then to the streets of Ecruteak City, the sun was out with the heat of the sun bouncing off the snow making it warmer than it actually was, the duo walked to the shops with the hope of finding perishable foods for the people they helped days prior to being in Ecruteak City.

"See, Ash you do care, through all that pride and courage, you're nothing but a big softy," Salvia teased as she continued to drag the trainer with her through the streets of the city.

"Oh come on Salvia, I just don't want people to starve and freeze to death," Ash replied to the royals comment making her giggle to his reply.

Salvia looked over to Ash again while clinging to his left arm, "if anything, you have taken on some of my traits, eating politely, reading books and all round you have become a lot smarter," Salvia explained with much joy, flustering the trainer greatly, "not only that you have given me an answer to my question, which I am so happy to hear," the princess explained while the two walked down the main street of the city seeing the people singing the Christmas songs and holding last minute shopping before the shops closed for the holiday, "you know Ash, when I was in the palace all I could think about was why we celebrated Christmas, most times my family would just invite friends and other people I didn't know," Salvia explained her past to Ash with a frown while looking around the street to see families enjoying the snow and listening to Christmas songs from the people on the street, "all I wanted was to spend Christmas with just my family," Salvia professed sadly.

"So I have taken some of your traits, then what about you?" Ash asked the girl with a cheeky grin.

"What do you mean?" Salvia asked in reply with a stunned expression.

Ash laughed for a moment before a cold breeze blew passé the trainer causing the young girl to shiver, "you have become a little reckless, a little like me," Ash restarted his laughter at the princess.

"No I haven't, there is no way I am as reckless as you," Salvia retorted as she scowled at the trainer.

"Yeah and you have become stubborn just like me too," Ash returned to the topic as they walked down the street and eventually into a shop, "but then again, you're right, I have taken some of your traits," Ash submitted proudly as they walked around the shop together.

_Whirlpool Island._

Delia and Brian were sitting on their respective beds knowing that Christmas was around the corner, but they felt saddened by the fact they couldn't spend it with their respective children, Brian looked outside to see the sun beaming into his cell, 'Salvia, I never understood why you were so sad on Christmas Day, but now I realize why,' Brian thought with saddened look.

"Brian what's the matter?" Delia asked in her caring tone.

Brian looked up to Delia and smiled at her for a moment, "I was just thinking about the Christmas' our family had," Brian replied as he stood up to walked around his cell, "I was realizing the fact that my daughter was sad on Christmas Day," the king proclaimed while Delia listened in with great intent.

"Why was she so sad?" Delia asked warmly.

"I found out why just now," Brian stated while looking out the window of his cell again, "she wanted nothing more than to celebrate with just her family and no one else," Brian pointed out with a smile.

"Yeah, every Christmas Ash was always out adventuring, I felt like this year was the year where he would be home for Christmas, but then again I had always hoped for that every year," Delia described her loneliness on Christmas day, she remembered her sons days before he became a trainer and smiled at him proudly, "but, it doesn't bother me so much now, he is a grown man, I have a feeling he is going to settle after this journey with your daughter," Delia declared with a proud smile as the winds blew into the open windows of the cell. "I hope those two are doing well," Delia requested while sitting down when they heard a conversation about Chris' plans for a far off region.

Meanwhile in another part of the castle Chris was sitting down while Alex was standing in front of his desk, "sir, the experiments are almost done, not only that there is a planned meeting in the Unova region with a delegation from every region heading there," Alex declared the events going on around the world, he looked at the map on the table and noticed how the battle lines were getting drawn on the desk.

"Perfect, everything is falling into place, Team Rocket's actions in Goldenrod City have caught the attention of the world," Chris explained with a dark smirk, "when are they heading to Unova?" Chris asked his friend while trying to maintain his joy.

"It seems they are heading to Unova in just a month's time," Alex replied to his friend's question. "Also sir the new device you're asking for is almost done," Alex reported the progression of the experiments.

Chris picked up a dagger and looked at the map, "Excellent, soon everything will change, and not for the better," Chris laughed while throwing a dagger into the middle of the map. "That will be the last Christmas those guys have with their families," Chris declared while laughing.

"Sir even the prince of Hoenn is heading to Unova as well," Alex pointed out making Chris laugh even more.

_In Ecruteak City:_

Ash and Salvia were walking back to the Pokemon Center carting back the food and warm clothes for the people in trouble, Ash turned his gaze up to the sky to see the clouds gathering with the snow starting to slowly fall around them providing a fresh powder on the ground, the cold breeze started to pick up and Salvia started to shiver from the cold, noticing this Ash took off his jacket and placed it around the royal, "Ash, you could get freeze," Salvia objected with concern but the trainer smiled at her before walking on towards the medical facility.

"Nothing to worry about, I will be just fine," Ash replied while pushing the cart with the help of Salvia,

After making it to the Pokemon Center, they walked inside to escape the cold and pulled out some boxes to place the food and clothes inside, "this is the first time I have done this," Salvia professed with a smile as she placed the first tin inside the box starting their charity for the people getting cold in the city, "this might take a while," Salvia said with pride as Ash handed her a tin of food to place in the box.

"Yeah but it will all be worth it," Ash remarked while handing another tin to of food to Salvia.

They continued the team work for some time before looking outside to see the snow fall getting heavier, eventually Salvia placed the last tin inside the first box, she closed the box and taped it with great care, she got a black pen and wrote a Christmas wish for the people of Goldenrod City, "Dragonite, time to give some people a great Christmas," Salvia called out her dragon type pokemon, the large dragon picked up the box and walked out of the medical facility before flying off with the, "remember to come back Dragonite!" Salvia yelled out while watching her starter pokemon fly towards the previous city.

The princess walked back into the Pokemon Center now with the intent to help Ash pack the next box of blankets and clothes for the people of Goldenrod City, "come on Salvia, we can't let those poor people freeze," Ash called over to the royal, he placed some of the gear into the box with the help of Salvia, the two looked up to come into eye contact, "you know this is the best Christmas so far," Ash said with a smile as he put more stuff inside the box, "and it isn't even Christmas Day," Ash joyfully remarked as he returned his concentration into putting the items in the box. Ash and Salvia placed the final bit of clothes and blankets in the large box, Salvia taped up the box and written another Christmas wish to the devastated city, Ash called out his Dragonite, "Alright Dragonite, take this box to Goldenod City," Ash ordered before walking back to Salvia who remained inside to wait for the two large pokemon. The two trainers watched the green dragon pokemon flying off with the snow falling outside.

_Goldenrod City_

Colin was helping with the repairs of a building when he heard a loud cry of a pokemon, he looked up to see a large yellow pokemon approaching him, the people gathered to see the large pokemon getting ready to land in front of them, Colin noticed a large box in the claws of the dragon type and let out a quick smile, "Lady Salvia and Sir Ash," Colin whispered with pride as the dragon placed the box down gently in front of the crowd, then another roar was heard from the air, "seems like they have sent another Dragonite," Colin said with a smile.

The large Dragon landed next to Salvia's pokemon, the box was nicely placed at the front of the group, one of the children looked at the names on the box with joy, "Ash and Princess Salvia have sent us a gift!" one of the children declared happily.

Cilan opened the box with is knife and looked inside to see the food inside the box and opened the other to discover clothes and blankets, "they seem to be guilty of what happened to the city," Cilan pointed out while the people cheered feeling the joy of Christmas coming to their devastated city, 'Salvia's traits are definitely rubbing off onto Ash,' Cilan thought as his memories of his journey with the duo flooded his mind, "those two are a perfect match," the green haired trainer said with pride.

The people quietly grabbed some of the food and a blanket each before walking off, meanwhile in the distance a large white pokemon with a purple tail as watching from the distance, "seems like my new friends are spreading some cheer," it said with a smile, Mewtwo looked around to see the two Dragonite's taking off, 'very soon my friends I will be helping you out,' the powerful legendary said while teleporting away.

"Wow Ash and Salvia are really great people," one of the children stated with pride as they walked off with their gifts, "they are my new idols, Ash is so strong and Salvia is really nice," he said happily while walking back to the tent city.

Colin watched with happiness knowing that they had more than enough food due to the help this city was given thanks to the other regions, "even if this city was getting help from the other towns and regions, they still made an attempt to help these people," Colin told himself while watching the children talking about their new heroes, "those two are now idolized by children and are considered a hero," Colin told himself while watching the two dragons flying back to their trainers.

_Ecruteak City._

Ash walked back outside to wait for the two powerful pokemon to return them, thinking about the charity they had done for the people in the city to the south of them, his focus quickly turned to what was going to happen next, he hadn't seen his mother in nearly a month, "mom, I hope you're alright, my eighteenth was amazing," Ash said while picking up some snow with his uninjured hand, "can't wait to get this stupid cast off," Ash said while looking back to see Salvia sitting on her own.

A loud roar was heard out in the distance, the trainer looked up to see the two powerful dragons approaching the city, he ran back into the medical facility to call for the princess, "Ash are our dragon pokemon back?" Salvia asked happily, Ash nodded in reply and the two walked out of the medical facility, Salvia started to shiver as the sun started to set and the brisk wind started to pick up, "Ash how are you able to stand this cold?" Salvia asked the trainer as he lent her his winter coat again.

"Well I am wearing jeans and a jumper," Ash replied with a smile.

The two of them watched as their dragons, "I live near the tropics Ash, so this weather isn't really great in my opinion," Salvia said while crossing her arms to try and keep warm, "I certainly hope it doesn't stay cold forever," Salvia complained while Ash started to laugh at her.

Ash pulled out his pokeball and waited for his team mate to come back after the flight, the two dragons landed in front of the duo, "you did well," Ash complimented the powerful Dragonites with pride; he recalled his dragon with ecstatically. After recalling their dragons the two walked back into the Pokemon Center, Ash stayed outside for a moment wanting to resist the temptation to go out shopping again, 'Salvia, doesn't know about the other present I got her,' Ash thought while the snow started to get heavier.

"Ash, hurry up I don't want you to be sick tomorrow," Salvia demanded as she stood at the entrance of the.

Ash rushed back inside to get some hot chocolate for the princess. He noticed how Salvia wasn't in the main foyer, he grabbed the cup and walked back into the room where Salvia was sitting in front of the fire, "you know Salvia there is a concert tonight, along with a karaoke for Christmas songs," Ash said with a smile as he handed the warm cup to Salvia, "I would love it if you joined in to night and watched the concert tonight, it will be in the main foyer," Ash said while taking a seat next to the royal, they sat in front of the fire while Salvia enjoyed the hot chocolate.

As they were enjoying the moment together Salvia's X-transceiver started ringing, the princess jolted up and picked up the call, "Colin, you're ringing at this time?" Salvia asked her friend with a smile.

"Lady Salvia, I would like to say have a great Christmas," Colin wished Salvia while Ash popped into the picture, "Ash, nice to see you, thanks for the gifts you two sent the people, they really appreciated it," Colin explained proudly while the two were listening to their friend.

Ash and Salvia looked at each other smiling from ear to ear, "well, we couldn't forget the people of Goldenrod City and what they went through a week ago," Salvia decreed while turning her gaze back to the picture of her friend.

"Yeah, I didn't want the children to suffer from the cold, they needed food and blankets," Ash proclaimed while talking to Colin for a second.

"Yeah the children seem to idolize the both of you," Colin told the two as they both scratched the backs of their heads while blushing at the revelation, "you two seem to be enjoying the holidays, you seem to be getting closer," Colin pointed out happily as he looked around to see more people helping each other out, "have a great Christmas and enjoy the new year," Colin said before closing off the call.

"Thank you Colin," Salvia silently thanked her friend as she gazed at the fire. The silence was broken when music was bouncing around the medical facility, Ash grabbed Salvia's hand and stood up with her, "alright Ash, we need to have a good time," Salvia submitted to the trainer while closing her eyes.

The two walked out of the room and towards the main foyer of the Pokemon Center, they were now listening to the music together Salvia was held close to Ash while he placed his arm around the royal enjoying the music that was being played, it was time for the karaoke to happen and Salvia wasn't too sure if she wanted to go ahead with it, she was being pushed towards the front of the room by Ash who wanted to perform with her, "come on Salvia, get into the spirit of the show," Ash playfully continued to push the noble towards the stage while the people were cheering them on, "how hard can it be, to sing a Christmas song?" Ash asked while Salvia started to feel nervous about performing in front of the people and with Ash next to her.

"But Ash, I am not sure about this," Salvia retorted with uncertainty, "it's different when I was singing about you," Salvia whispered to Ash.

"Ah no problem, just have fun," Ash returned her concerns as he looked at the selections of songs, "all you have to do is look at the words on the screen," Ash told the princess while showing her the screen in front of the stage. Ash pushed Salvia to the stage and the song started playing.

Ash started to sing but wasn't really all that good, but it didn't stop him from having a great time, the crowd started to clap in tune with the song and soon stopped when Salvia started to sing the song, it soon became noted that Ash chose this song deliberately, 'she is really good,' Ash noted to himself before he started to sing the chorus in perfect unison with Salvia.

Ash took the next line with Salvia starting to enjoy herself, 'he chose a duet,' Salvia thought while the crowd continued to clap to the performance. The two worked towards the next c of the chorus of the song but this time Ash allowed Salvia to take the chorus on her own, Salvia sung the chorus perfectly but was now directing it to Ash while the crowd listened in awe of the voice of the princess, "all I want for Christmas is you," Salvia finished the song while Ash grinned at her proudly.

Ash and Salvia took each other's hands and bowed to the crowd, the MC stood there happily as the crowd applauded for their performance, "well how about that, singing All I want for Christmas is you, really shows the bond these two have!" the MC yelled out as the crowd cheered for Ash and Salvia, "that performance will be hard to beat," the MC acknowledged with certainty.

Ash and Salvia walked off the stage proud of their performance, "that was amazing Salvia," Ash complimented the young woman proudly.

"Yeah that was fun, maybe we should have a solo," Salvia told the trainer as she started to get more into the show with Ash, listening to more of the concert and other people's performance, enjoying the show with Ash not wanting to leave the show.

The MC stopped the show for a moment and started to think of an idea, "alright, time to turn the lights off," the MC started as the people started to wonder what was going on, "I will shine one of these lights on some lovely young couples now, when that light shines on you," the MC continued as the people started to feel a little nervous, "you have to kiss," the MC declared before shining the light on the first couple in the room.

Ash and Salvia looked at each other nervously hoping that the light didn't shine on them, 'oh man, I hope that idiot doesn't shine the light on us,' Ash thought as the light started to move around again.

'I hope that light doesn't shine on us,' Salvia thought while the light hit another couple.

"Alright one more couple," the MC declared while moving the light around again, in a quick moment the light stopped on Ash and Salvia, "oh man the lovely young couple that sung a song for us a little while ago, well now you have to kiss," the MC chuckled as the crowd turned their gaze to Ash and Salvia, "come on you two, this light will stay on you until you kiss," the MC declared with a cheeky smirk.

Salvia grabbed Ash's face and pressed her lips on the trainer's, Ash embraced Salvia and returned the kiss now ignoring the people around them and the MC who was yelling out to the crowd. "Can those two be beaten? Best performance tonight and now the best kiss!" The MC yelled out while the two continued to passionately kiss under the light.

Ash and Salvia pulled away and smiled at one another, "well that wasn't so bad," Salvia sweetly indicated while looking into the trainers eyes.

"Alright time to change things up, we had Christmas music and a kiss off, now it's time to get you guys dancing, so get yourself a partner," the MC instructed the crowd and starting the music to get people dancing together, "time to see if these two can make it a hat-trick," the MC declared while the crowd started dancing.

Later that night most of the crowd was gone leaving only a handful of people to enjoy the rest of the show, "you know Salvia, I have really enjoyed this Christmas," Ash confessed while the MC walked up to them with a smile.

"Wow you two must be really close, you won three contests tonight," the MC stated with great pride. "Tomorrow afternoon you two will be given a special lunch for two," the MC declared while handing over the gift card to the couple.

Ash and Salvia looked at their prize knowing it was starting to get a little late. Ash and Salvia walked to their respective rooms to sleep for the night, "good night Ash," Salvia whispered to the trainer not wanting to wake up the people in the hall way.

'Good night Salvia,' Ash mouthed to the princess as he entered his room where his partner pokemon was sleeping for the entire time.

_Ten Hours later:_

Ash woke up and picked up his box and walked out to the room where he was hoping Salvia was waiting, he opened the room to see Salvia sitting in front of the fire on her own holding a small box, Salvia turned around to see Ash walking up to her with a red gift wrapped box under his left arm, "did you sleep well?" she asked the trainer hopefully.

Ash nodded and sat down next to Salvia, "it seems like you couldn't wait for Christmas," Ash said while getting ready to hand over his gift to Salvia.

The two exchanged gifts quickly and got ready to open them, "you know I don't want to go out today," Salvia started to unwrap her present, after taking off the red wrapping she took the lid off to see a pink winter jacket, she looked at it for a moment and then turned her gaze to the trainer, "I never received such a nice gift before," Salvia stated as she started to cry in joy, "thank you," Salvia thankfully hugged Ash before he could open his present.

After Salvia moved back the trainer started to unwrap his gift, he looked at the small blue box and took off the lid to see a purple and white ball with two pink spots on the top, "you got me a Master Ball? Thank you Salvia," Ash thankfully grabbed Salvia's hand.

After the exchanging of gifts Ash and Salvia got ready to have their Christmas lunch, Ash walked out of his room and spotted Salvia wearing her new jacket, she walked up to Ash and took his hand, "time for lunch and now I can head out into the cold," Salvia said while walking though the main lobby of the Pokemon Center.

They walked down the streets and eventually to the restaurant for their lunch, after walking in they presented the voucher, the people nodded and gave the couple a seat at the best table in the restaurant, "please enjoy the lunch you have won," the waiter said before walking off to get the meals ready.

"This place is really nice," Ash said while looking around the place which only had a few people inside.

The waiters walked up to the table with a plate of food in each hand, "please enjoy your meals," the waited hopefully placed the plated on the table in front of the two.

Ash looked at his meal and started to salivate at the sight of the meal, Salvia walked over to Ash and started to cut his food, "thanks Salvia, I just can't wait to let my right arm breathe," Ash thankfully smiled at the princess while she helping Ash cut his food.

"No problem Ash, I can't wait for that day either," Salvia replied to Ash's gratitude. The royal sat down in front of Ash and they started to eat their meals while the Christmas music was playing in the background, enjoying the atmosphere that was given to them from the previous night's party, "last night was amazing, this is the best Christmas I've ever had," Salvia acknowledged with great delight while watching the trainer eating his meal politely.

"Yeah I know, I enjoyed last night it was the best date ever," Ash professed blissfully after finishing his meal.

The two finished their meals and dessert and got ready to leave, Salvia put on her new winter jacket and walked through the snow, "the reason why I want your right arm to get better so I can cling to that one endlessly," Salvia laughed as the skies opened up with the snow falling heavily leaving the princess in awe at the chance of walking through the snow with Ash no matter how cold it was, it was a day she would never forget, 'I hope to see many more Christmas' with you,' Salvia thought while clinging to the left arm of the trainer.

* * *

**This is the Christmas one down, now with a three week time skip with some light with Ash's injury in sight. Yes this one was quick because the idea was always there in my mind**

**Still I hope you all enjoyed this sweet chapter, yes it was sweet, now we head back into some fighting which will most likely be a prelude to the next part of the story.**

**Next time Episode 39: Royal Roses.**

**And this time I didn't make the mistake of repeating a chapter, LOL.**


	13. Royal Roses

**Episode 39: Royal Roses**

_I haven't even got Salvia to capture some other types of pokemon so in this chapter I will give her another type, this episode will go three weeks after the events of the previous Episode._

* * *

It had been three weeks since their Christmas celebration, Ash was sitting in the hospital ready to remove his cast, he had been waiting for the day to lose it and use his arm, "oh man, how long has this stupid thing been on for?" Ash asked himself unable to contain himself with excitement. He was called into the doctor's room leaving the princess with Raichu. Ash walked into the room after waiting for an hour, "oh man, the day has finally come, I can use my right arm again," Ash indicated happily while walking into the room

The doctor sat down with the paper work, "well from the reports we can tell that you're ready to have that cast removed," the doctor pointed as he got ready to cut the cast off of the trainer's arm.

After a short amount of time and a nervous wait the cast had finally split apart leaving Ash able to clench his fist, "that feels great," Ash said in a pleased tone while looking at his arm which had fully recover, ash continued to clench his right fist a few times until he got the feel of it, he looked up to the doctor who was smiling at him, "thanks doctor, I can use my arm again," Ash declared with joy.

"You must be careful for another day or so, but the X-rays have shown that your arm is fully healed," the doctor instructed the trainer before he opened the door.

Ash walked out of the room to see the princess and his Raichu were watching the TV in the waiting room, Ash quietly walked out of the room before Salvia noticed him without his cast, "Ash, your arm is finally healed," Salvia said before standing up to greet the trainer, "now that your arm is healed we can continue on our journey," Salvia stated while clasping her hands in hope.

After a while the duo walked out into the cold air of Ecruteak City, ready to head off towards the next city to restart their search for their respective parents, "now I can finally look after you properly," Ash sighed while walking towards the exit of the city, "time to get a move on," Ash declare while raising his right fist in to the air, 'damn that feels so much better,' Ash thought while lowering his fist to look at his right hand, he stretched out his arms for the first time with confidence no longer feeling any pain, "no pain, this is so sweet!" Ash yelled out happily while walking through the fields outside of Ecruteak Cty.

Ash lowered his arms after the long stretch, Salvia noticed the amount of snow become less and more grass showing up further ahead, "Ash look over in the distance," Salvia pointed to the green grass blissfully but she still knew that the air was still going to be cold, the trees were without their foliage and the pokemon were few in the area, but that didn't deter them from walking about with the hopes of finding berries near the trees, "you know we didn't do much for the new year," Salvia said while looking up to Ash who was still clenching his right fist.

"Yeah I know Salvia, but we sort of had to prepare for the next part of our journey, our next stop will be the Unova Region," Ash explained the plans to the royal as they continued to walk through the fields with Raichu walking in front of them, "you know once we get closer to Olivine maybe you can capture a few pokemon," Ash told the princess with a smile, she nodded in approval before looking back towards the road in front of them.

_On Whirlpool Island._

Chris looked out his window when a scientist walked in with an item in his hands, "sir the experiments have proven very fruitful, we have created a device the that can amplify the power of Darkrai," the scientist decreed as he walked up to the desk of his boss, "but what do we do with Darkrai?" the scientist asked with uncertainty.

Chris walked up to the scientist to inspect the device, "interesting, so now I can begin my plans to wrest power from my brother," Chris dictated as he put the device back into his hands, "as for Darkrai, I still have use for it, once that pokemon's usefulness has ended I will personally get rid of it," Chris told the scientist who was concerned about the revelations of his boss, "you seem concerned for Darkrai, that pokemon means nothing to me, I am only using it for its abilities," Chris explained while taking the pokeball back from the scientist.

The scientist walked out of the office feeling saddened by his bosses disregard for the legendary pokemon, 'this doesn't feel right,' the scientist thought as he walked through the hall on his own.

Meanwhile in the dungeons Delia and the king were eating their meals that were given to them when Alex walked into the dungeon, "ah it seems like you're both eating," Alex remarked with a smile as he walked up to the king and the mother, "well it seems like I will be heading out to see your children," Alex digressed with laughter.

Brian dropped his plate and ran up to Alex grabbing his shirt in anger, "don't you dare do anything to Ash and my daughter!" Brian yelled before being pushed to the floor by Alex.

"Chris is only taking care of you because he doesn't want Salvia or Ash to have any excuses," Alex confessed as he looked over to the woman in the next prison cell, "as for you, you will be what ignites Ash's fury," Alex proclaimed before walking out with a broad smile on his, "I will be paying them a visit, letting them know where you both are, then that is where all the fun begins," Alex laughed while closing the door leaving the two prisoners in a state of shock.

"Unbelievable, my brother is taking it too far now," Brian clenched his fists in anger knowing that there was little he could do at this stage.

"Brian, what is your brother planning?" The brunette asked with concern.

Brian looked over to Delia with a frown, he punched the ground , "he plans to lure our children into a trap," Brian replied now concerned for his daughters safety, "not only that my brother intends to start a war by dividing the regions ties," Brian stated much to the horror of Delia.

"But that would mean that Ash and Salvia will be caught in the middle of it," Delia gasped as she put her hands over her mouth, she collapsed in shock feeling sick at the prospect that her son would be fighting in such a terrible situation.

"Normally Sinnoh and Hoenn have very strong ties, but since Salvia chose to make her own choice, I am not so certain," the king digressed while looking at the floor with guilt in his eyes, he looked over to the window, he stood up and picked up his plate of food, "sadly there is nothing that can be done to prevent this war, my brother holds all the cards at the moment," Brian told Delia as she started to cry hearing the kings uncertainty, the king sat there eating his meal with his hands shaking, 'I have a bad feeling about this,' Brian thought while hearing the sobs of the woman in the next cells.

"My son is in danger," Delia cried out while hurting, "and Salvia such a sweet girl, why are they being dragged into something like this?" Delia asked while remembering the day she met the princess for the first time, remembering what she was like.

"When I first met your son, I didn't think much of him, in fact I wanted to execute him because I thought he kidnapped my daughter," Brian confessed while feeling disappointed in himself, "but once I got to know him a little more, I came to accept him, I came to accept the fact my daughter chose him over the prince of Hoenn," the king said proudly as he remembered the day he saved his daughter at the Safari Zone while getting hurt himself, "he has always looked out for my daughter, no matter how much danger he put himself in," the king stated while the trainers mother looked up drying her eyes and looking up to smile at the king himself, "in fact I would be proud to let him take my daughter's hand in marriage, and I know they will," the king stated hoping what he said would come true.

As the two finished their conversation Chris walked in wearing a military outfit, smiling from ear to ear, "what do you think brother? Suitable for the beginning of a new era," Christopher stated while his brother looked away.

"You're being reckless, do you think you have enough numbers to do what you intend to do?" Brian asked with disdain not wanting to make eye contact with his brother, "starting something you will never finish, you never change," Brian remarked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Brother, you seem to be forgetting, I no longer need you pretty little daughter and as for her prince well he won't survive the war I intend to bring to this world," Chris explained with a smirk before walking from one end of the dungeon to another, "you see, with my new allies I can attack any region I want, when the delegates of all the regions are killed off thanks to me," Chris started before being interrupted by his brother with a cough.

"You destroy the plane they are on and it begins another conflict, geez brother you really are an original thinker," Brian insulted his brother with a smirk, he walked up to his brother's face and shook his head, "I trust that Ash and my daughter will bring an end to your new plans," Brian laughed at his brother who was starting to become irritated by his brother.

"Well I will let you hope," Chris said before walking out of the dungeon.

_On the road to Olivine City._

Ash and Salvia were sitting under a tree eating lunch before seeing a pokemon walking in front of them, Salvia stared at the mostly green pokemon with its hands holding a rose each, a red rose in its right and a blue rose in the left, "amazing, a Roselia," Salvia said while quickly picking herself up, Ash looked to the ground in dismay knowing that he wanted to capture this particular pokemon for Salvia, "Ninetails, it's time to shine," Salvia called out a mostly white pokemon with nine tails.

Ash sat there eating the rest of his food watching the young royal getting ready to battle the thorn pokemon, 'I really wanted to catch that pokemon for her,' Ash thought to himself while as he watched the princess call out for an attack, 'her pokemon are definitely stronger than they were in Kanto,' Ash thought as he witnessed the grass type falling to the ground while the fire type got ready to attack.

"Now it's time to capture this pokemon," Salvia declared happily as she threw her pokeball at the thorn pokemon, "Pokeball go."

Ash sat there watching the pokeball wobble from side to side, Salvia stood there with anticipation hoping that the grass type wouldn't break free from the red and white device continued to wobble, 'I hope Salvia gets this pokemon,' Ash thought while waiting for the pokeball to stop moving.

Salvia waited for what seemed like forever, a sudden noise was heard as the pokeball stopped moving and the stars burst from the device, "alright I caught a Roselia!" Salvia yelled out for the whole world to hear, she picked up the device and recalled her Ninetails, she turned around and ran back to Ash happy at her new capture.

"Nicely done Salvia," Ash said with a smile as he stood up and looked around with a now serious expression, "great why did he have show up?" Ash asked as he looked around the area to see where the person he was sensing was, "Alex, I know you're here," Ash called out to the man who was waiting to ambush them.

"Ah, so you can sense when someone is around, I wonder how that works," Alex enquired as he walked out from behind the trees, "I was going to attack you when you least expected it," Alex professed with a dark smile.

"I can sense a person's aura, maybe I should tell you that I am an aura guardian," Ash replied with a proud smile, "in fact one of the last ones in existence," Ash stated much to the surprise of Alex.

"Wow, so the legends are true, it seems like this is about to get really interesting now," Alex digressed with a dark grin.

"What do you want Alex?" Salvia asked her uncle's friend, "we don't have the time to waste with you, Ash and I need to find our parents," Salvia dictated while standing next to Ash.

The two trainers stood there waiting for Alex to reply, she pulled out two pokeballs ready to battle the duo standing in front of him, "well I see you have recovered from your injury, well now I won't have any reason to hold back, Electivire and Magmortar, time to battle," Alex called out his two pokemon to battle the trainers in front of him.

"You and Chris are starting to get on my nerves," Ash declared as he pulled out a pokeball ready to battle the man in front of him, "Garchomp, I choose you!" Ash yelled out while calling his powerful dragon type to battle.

Salvia pulled out her pokeball ready to face her uncle's friend, "you and my uncle will not get away with harming my dad and Lady Delia," Salvia reminded Alex with an angered expression, she threw out her pokeball determined to face Alex again, "Rhyhorn, it's time to shine," Salvia called out her ground type pokemon.

The two pokemon glared at the powerful opposing pokemon, while Alex kept his cool, "you know if you can beat me I might just give you the information you need to know," Alex said with a dark grin while his two pokemon readied themselves to attack the two pokemon opposite them, "Magmortar use Flamethrower and Electivire use Brick Break on Garchomp," Alex instructed his two pokemon to attack first.

Ash and Salvia nodded at one another and looked back to the battle quickly, "Garchomp dodge the attack, then use Dragon Claw," Ash ordered his dragon type while Salvia commanded her Rhyhorn to attack with Earthquake. Garchomp charged towards the electric pokemon with his claws glowing, two pokemon clashed while a powerful quake pushed an incoming fire attack back, Electivire jumped back to assist its tag team partner, "not bad Salvia, but we still need to watch out," Ash stated calmly.

Salvia nodded in approval and looked back at their opponent, "I know Ash," the princess retorted as her pokemon got ready to attack again, "he is keeping his cool, what is he hiding?" Salvia enquired as she began to shake nervously, "Rhyhorn attack with Rock Slide," Salvia instructed her pokemon with uncertainty.

"Reckless move little girl," Alex pointed out with a smirk before clicking his fingers, the two pokemon dodged the avalanche of boulders and moved towards a double team of Salvia's pokemon, "take out the weakest pokemon before facing the strongest," Alex explained his strategy to the duo before his electric pokemon was sent flying towards a tree, Alex looked on in shock seeing the trainers dragon type landing next to Salvia's pokemon.

Ash started laughing at his foe knowing that he was in a corner, "seems like you forgot all about me," Ash pointed to himself making Alex sweat a little, "you know that, I will defend Salvia even if it hurts me," Ash declared with a confident smirk, while the bluenette looked at the trainer in shock.

"Is that so?" Alex asked the trainer before he burst out into laughter, "how will you defend the princess if there is a war?" Alex questioned the trainer continuing to laugh at him.

Salvia gasped at the question not knowing how to reply to such a question, Ash glared at him knowing that, "what do you mean by a war?" Ash asked in shock while Salvia stepped back trying to grasp what she had just heard, "tell me now!" Ash demanded while Alex just laughed at the two trainers, he stood there not replying to the questing angering Ash further, "fine if you don't say anything, I will make you," Ash declared his intentions, "Salvia, we need to beat him in battle," Ash instructed the princess but she was in too much shock to do anything.

'My uncle is going to start a war?' Salvia asked herself before her back came into contact with a tree.

"Great she is in shock," Ash stated before turning his attention back to the battle, "Rhyhorn I will need your help," Ash told the rock type pokemon while trying to get back into the battle, the spikes pokemon started to glow a pure white and started to stand up on its back legs and grow a large tail, the pokemon roared out of the glowing revealing that it had evolved, "yes Rhyhorn is now a Rhydon," Ash celebrated happily but this didn't bring Salvia out of her shock. "I have no time to celebrate, Rhydon attack with Drill Run and Garchomp attack with Dragon Claw," Ash told the two ground type pokemon.

The two pokemon charged towards the opposing pokemon with ferocious intent, "hmph attack with Brick Break both of you," Alex instructed his pokemon quickly, the fire and electric pokemon charged towards the pokemon under Ash's command with glowing arms. The four pokemon clashed but the pokemon under Alex's commanded fell to the ground due to the sheer power of Rhydon and Garchomp, "wow this guy is good," Alex hissed in frustration before noticing that his pokemon passed out while the pokemon standing in front of the raven haired trainer were ready to battle again, "I see you have great ability," Alex submitted while recalling his pokemon with a smirk.

"Alright now tell us, where does Chris have the king and my mother?" Ash demanded with his fists clenched in anger.

"North East Island of the Whirlpool Islands," Alex supplied the information before walking away from the trainers.

Ash turned around to see Salvia still standing with her back to the tree, she collapsed to the ground uncertain of what to think, "Ash, I am scared now, my uncle is going to start a war," Salvia said before she started to cry.

Ash knelt down in front of the crying royal, 'that was almost too easy,' Ash thought as he embraced the princess, the young girl cried in the trainers embrace, 'what now, everything was going nicely, but now I am no longer certain,' Ash thought while the hugging the royal who wept immensely. "I will make sure nothing happens to you or our family members," Ash promised but remained uncertain about what to do next, the princess stopped crying and looked up but she was still on the verge of crying again, "I will stop your uncle," Ash declared while trying to assure the princess with a smile, 'it's no use I can't even find a positive out this,' Ash thought before pulling away from the royal.

'My powers are almost at its peak, very soon I will be awakened,' a voice told the trainer.

Ash looked around to see where the voice was coming from, "hey Salvia did you hear a voice a moment ago?" Ash asked the blue haired royal, she shook her head not knowing what Ash was talking about, "I could swear I heard a voice," Ash told the noble but she shook her head again.

Salvia stood up and started to walk to her newly evolved pokemon, "Ash, if what Alex said proves true, I need you to stay by my side," Salvia gently said while recalling her pokemon, she turned around and smiled softly at the trainer, "I just have no idea what to do anymore, I was so certain up until now," Salvia confessed while getting ready to walk towards the next city.

Ash recalled his pokemon and walked towards the city alongside Salvia, she remained quiet giving the trainer an uneasy feeling, "Salvia, the truth is I am scared as well, I don't know if I can protect you if Chris does start a war," Ash explained before stopping next to the royal, he looked at the ground feeling angry at himself for not only getting injured but the fact now he had no idea how to save the world, "I am now hearing this voice, there is a war set to happen and we have yet to save our respective parents!" Ash yelled out feeling frustrated with the problem that was in front of him.

"Ash," Salvia whispered shocked at how Ash was now second guessing himself, "if anyone should be beating themselves up, it's me, I couldn't save a city," Salvia told the trainer as she walked up to him, she placed her hand on his cheek and smiled at him, "whatever challenges we face, we face together," Salvia assured Ash who stared into the royal's bright blue eyes.

"Isn't that cute, man Ash, you sure have become a real softy," a familiar nasally voice pointed out while laughing at the trainer, "I was hoping to face my rival to see how far we have come, but I see him still trying to pick up the princess," Gary snidely remarked as he walked up to his rival, "you see I have already won seven pins, how many have you won?" Gary asked while showing off his pins to Ash and the princess.

"He has also won seven," Salvia replied in defense of the trainer, "also we are already a couple now," Salvia replied to Ash's rival.

"Wow my rival and friend seems to be better off than me," Gary said while scratching his head, "hey I know how about we have a quick battle?" Gary challenged Ash while holding out his pokeball.

"Alright then, but let's make it a one on one battle," Ash decreed but was still feeling uneasy almost sick after hearing the revelations made by Alex, 'to be honest I don't feel like battling,' Ash thought as he pictured everything he worked for disappearing in front of his eyes.

Gary stood there seeing the hesitation in his rivals eyes, 'something isn't right, where is his boundless confidence?' Gary wondered as he pulled out a pokeball, "come on Ash, let's make this a quick battle," Gary said while feeling nervous, 'something isn't right,' Gary confirmed with himself while getting ready to call out his pokemon to battle, "Golem, let's go," Gary called out a large boulder of a pokemon to a battle.

Ash stood there with a frown while he picked up his pokeball, "Seismitoad, I choose you," Ash called out without his usual confidence.

"What happened to them?" Gary asked as he tried to figure out what happened, "he lacks his usual confidence and she is now very silent, they both lost some sort of spark," Gary whispered to himself while Ash just stood there not giving any commands to his pokemon, "well if you don't start the battle, then I will," Gary told his rival as his pokemon let out a bellow, "Golem attack with Roll Out," Gary called out for the first attack of the battle.

Ash stood there hesitating in his commands, "oh right, Seismitoad attack with Hydro Pump," Ash instructed his water pokemon to counter the rock types move, the water type unleashed a devastating water attack on the rock type knocking it out in one hit.

"That isn't like Ash to want to finish his opponents in one attack," Gary reminded himself of the old Ash. "Ash, what in the hell is going on?" Gary asked his rival while recalling is rock type pokemon.

Ash looked over to the princess who remained silent, "Ash we should tell him," Salvia said quietly.

The two trainers walked up to Ash's rival, "I no longer know what to do, Salvia's uncle wants to start a war, and I am hearing this strange voice," Ash stated while Gary listened in with shock.

Gary raised his fist and punched Ash alarming the princess after seeing Ash fall to the ground, "so you're going to remain uncertain of what to do?" Gary enquired in anger, "you're going to forget a duty you put yourself in for her father and her friend," Gary stated while Ash rubbed his face after being punched by his rival, "I admit, you're a stronger trainer than me, but you need to find out what to do next, I heard about what happened in Goldenrod City, that is just the beginning," Gary declared with his hand shaking next to his leg, he turned around with his fist shaking from the force of the hit, "if anything goes badly I will stop my journey in Hoenn to help you out," Gary implied while looking over his left shoulder to his friend and rival picking himself up, "just don't second guess yourself," Gary instructed his rival before walking off, "I want my rivel strong to keep me sharp," Gary chuckled with his fist raised in the air.

Ash looked over to Salvia with a serious expression, "Salvia, we need to rescue our parents," Ash said but still feeling unsure of himself, the trainer pulled out two feather from his pocket and looked at them for a moment, "Colin, I am not sure what you want me to do with these things," Ash told himself while feeling the heat from his bag getting greater, 'what's going on? The item in my bag seems to be getting more active,' Ash thought while walking next to Salvia to make it to the next city.

"Ash, I am not sure about this, the air in this city just doesn't feel right," Salvia explained as a shiver went down her back.

* * *

**The last four chapters (including this one) will be the prelude to the events in Unova, so this is the start of the buildup to some major stuff in the next part of the story.**

**I only have one more chapter to write and that should be done hopefully by the end of the week.**

**Next time episode 40: Team Rocket's new assault.**

**After this series I will be having a bit of a break so I can do more on Almost Easy. Then I will be starting the Unova series with a bang.**


	14. Team Rocket's new Assault

**Episode 40: Team Rocket's new assault.**

_This episode will focus on the final battle on mainland Johto as we head into the final battles of Johto itself and events leading up to the Unova saga._

* * *

"Salvia," Called out sitting up in the bed late at night, he clutched his head in shock at what he had experienced, "it was just a nightmare," Ash reminded himself as he hopped out bed with Raichu sleeping at the other end, he walked to the window and viewed the very quiet city thinking about his journey so far, looking back at the battles for Goldenrod City to the day he broke his arm defending Salvia from a raging Gyrados, he looked at his arm and clenched his fist again. He looked back at his bag and thought about the voice he was hearing starting while on the road to Olivine City, "do I have a new ally coming to assist me?" Ash asked himself while looking back towards the window.

Ash walked to the door of his room and opened the door to see Salvia standing there with an uneasy expression, "Ash, I just couldn't sleep, I am having this nightmare," Salvia expressed her grievances while she yawned lacking her usual zeal.

Ash looked away for a moment knowing what Salvia was going through, "you know I have been having nightmare as well," Ash professed before walking back to his bed, "can you give me a moment Salvia?" Ash asked with a faint smile before the princess closed the door, Ash got dressed and walked back up to the door with a blanket in his grasp, he opened the door with Salvia waiting for the trainer with a hopeful smile, "come on it doesn't seem we will be getting some sleep right now," Ash stated while walking next to Salvia who was about ready to collapsed from her lack of sleep, 'she hasn't had a decent night's sleep in three days,' Ash thought with concern in his eyes, he noticed how Salvia was barely awake and still walking.

Salvia collapsed and fell into Ash's arms, "I will be fine Ash," Salvia struggled to tell Ash but the trainer maintained his concern, Ash picked her up and carried her to the lobby of the Pokemon Center, "no stay away from me," Salvia ordered with fear in her voice.

Ash looked down at the princess who was now sleeping in his arms, "another nightmare," Ash whispered as Salvia started to cry.

"Please Ash, don't leave me," Salvia pleaded while in her sleep.

Ash looked up feeling guilty, 'you have nothing to worry about princess, I will stay by your side,' Ash promised while carrying the princess through the main foyer of the medical facility, he sat her up on the seat and sat next to her, he placed the blanket around them and moved the royal close to him, "Salvia, even in the nightmare's I will be there for you," Ash whispered before getting ready to nod off for the rest of the night.

Meanwhile in another part of the City Giovanni was on the phone talking to a mysterious person on the other end, "we might have had our differences in the past, but we need to solidify our power for the next stage of our plans," Giovanni told the person who was sitting in a chair with the back of it turned towards Giovanni.

The man turned the seat around to face Giovanni, the man with long green hair wearing mostly and a red and black eyepiece smirking at the Team Rocket boss, "since my son disappeared a while ago, I have no choice but to restart my plans to rule over Unova without him," the man stated nodding at the rocket boss.

"Yes Ghetsis I know about your son, you need to be careful, you too have enemies," Giovanni wisely pointed out while getting ready to get out of his seat.

"Yes I know, I am dealing with rumors of a number of my old comrades joining N," Ghetsis digressed while grabbing a walking cane. Ghetsis walked up the window of his office, and started to sigh at the signs of the rumors, "I just wish Colress would hurry up and find Kyurem, once we get this powerful pokemon we can freeze the region and gather what we need to help Chris out," Ghetsis declared before turning to look at his ally.

"How about I send Zager and Pierce?" Giovanni enquired as he looked up to see the people he was mentioning standing there quietly.

"Very well send your best to Unova to assist in the search for Kyurem," Ghetsis instructed the Rocket leader.

They closed off the call at the same time, Giovanni walked to his elites with a smirk, "sir, what is our next mission?" Pierce asked calmly.

Giovanni paced from left to right, he stood in front of the duo while placing his hands behind his back and looked around to prepare to speak, "you two along with a small force are to head to Unova to assist with the search of the legendary Kyurem," Giovanni instructed with a grin, he walked towards the door to get his next mission on the road to his conquest, he walked to the main foyer of the building seeing the chance to meet with the Rocket Trio to tell them their next mission, "I need you three to find the Rainbow and Silver wings," Giovanni dictated as he walked out of the building.

"Sir, what about you?" James asked quietly as he watched his boss walk up to a helicopter.

"I will be heading to the Unova region, to begin the next stage of my plans with Ghetsis," Giovanni as he entered his transport with his elite members, "once the mission is done here, come to Unova to be assigned your next mission," Giovanni told the trio before his person transport helicopter took off towards the next region leaving the trio to think about what to do next.

Jessie stood there with only a few members of Team Rocket at their disposal, "well James we need to make sure we find the two wings," Jessie reiterated the mission to her ally, "alright Team Rocket pan out and find the two wings for our boss!" Jessie ordered the remaining troops, the rockets spread out across the entire city to begin their search for the wings.

As the hunt for the two wings began Ash and Salvia were busy getting ready to start their search for their respective parents, Ash took a quick glance outside to see a group of people dressed in black searching through buildings. He shifted his gaze to the royal concerned that Team Rocket was looking for them, "this is just great, what is Team Rocket doing here?" Ash asked while the princess looked outside to see more Rockets at the other end of the street.

Salvia pulled Ash back into the medical facility, "this could be trouble," Salvia whispered while looking back outside to see if Team Rocket had passed the area.

'Ash, you need to get out of here as soon as possible, I sense that things are about to get a lot worse than they are right now,' a mysterious voiced echoed in Ash's mind.

"Again?" Ash asked as he grasped his head with his right hand while his Raichu and Salvia watched in concern, Ash looked up to see his friend and the princess staring at him with worry etched on their faces, Ash smiled at them started to walk towards the exit of the Pokemon Center again, "nothing to worry about" Ash told the duo while maintaining his composure, 'what does this voice mean, we need to get out of here soon?' Ash wondered as the princess and his electric partner ran up to him ready to start their mission to save their loved ones.

'Something isn't right, Ash said he has been hearing this voice in his head,' Salvia thought while looking over to her prince with a worried look in her eyes, the royal looked to the ground thinking about what Ash had told her earlier, 'he said there was something soothing about the voice, something he needed to trust,' Salvia wondered while staring at the trainer's back who was walking way ahead of her, she looked to the ground again remembering the prediction her father's pokemon gave her.

Ash stopped and looked at the lighthouse in front of him, the waterfront and the with water pokemon leaping out of the water to show the sprawling life in the ocean, "wow Ash, the amount of water pokemon is amazing," Salvia stated in wonderment as she walked up to the water front, "Gyrados, it's time to shine," Salvia called forth her red water type pokemon. The two trainers prepared to leave on the back of the powerful water type before a large burst of energy knocked the large water type into the ground, "what was that?" Salvia asked while trying to find the origin of the powerful attack.

Ash looked around to see where the powerful attack came from. He turned his gaze back to the royal who had no choice but to recall her water type pokemon, "who was that?" Ash asked while spotting a silhouette of a group of people getting ready to surround them for the ambush.

"Prepare for the fight of a lifetime," declared a female voice from behind.

Ash quickly turned around to see Jessie and James standing behind him, "what do you three want?" Ash asked the rocket trio with anger.

"Something that's in your pocket, the two wings that will help us command the legendary pokemon, Ho-oh and Lugia," James replied while watching the trainer place his hands in his pocket, he pulled out the two wings much to the delight of Jessie and James, "that's right now hand them over to Team Rocket," James instructed the trainer with a smirk.

Ash gazed at the wings for a moment and started to chuckle at the rockets, "no way, I would much rather throw these into the ocean than to let you have them," Ash retorted before placing the items back into his pocket, "but if you want them so badly, then why don't you make me," Ash challenged the rockets while holding out his pokeball ready for battle against the rockets, "Dragonite, I choose you," Ash called out his large green dragon type pokemon.

"Very well, but you need to realize that what our boss wants is what our boss will get," Meowth told the trainer with a grin, he raised his paws with claws sticking out ready to fight.

The rocket's called out a pokemon each easily outnumbering the two trainers, "well twerp, you seem to want to battle so badly," James said with a smirk.

Ash burst out into laughter after hearing the declaration from James, "wow James, it's been a very long time since I was called that," Ash said while shrugging his shoulder, Ash slowly looked around to see the amount of pokemon he had to face, "Salvia, go to the island, I will meet you there," Ash whispered to the royal but the two were pushed away by an attack from a poison pokemon.

"No Ash, I will help you fight," Salvia replied as she shook her head and got ready to battle side by side with Ash, "Tyranitar, it's time to shine," Salvia called forth a large green pokemon to battle Team Rocket with, the powerful rock type pokemon let out a powerful bellow unleashing a powerful sandstorm to cover the battlefield.

Ash smiled at the princess who was standing there determined to battle with Ash by her side, "nicely done Salvia," Ash congratulated the princess calmly, he knew that with Salvia back him up he would be able to battle the rockets with their powerful pokemon. Before the battle started another roar was heard from the distance, Ash looked up to see the shadow of a familiar pokemon approaching him, the pokemon unleashed a powerful burst of flames at the enemies pokemon, "Charizard, it's been a while!" Ash yelled out to the large orange pokemon before it landed next to him.

"Just because you have a few more pokemon it doesn't mean you stand a chance," Jessie yelled out to the two trainer, "Seviper, attack Charizard with Poison Tail," Jessie ordered with anger.

"Amoonguss attack with Energy Ball," James commanded with certainty.

While the two more powerful pokemon got their attacks out the rest of Team Rocket's pokemon attack from either side of the two trainers, "Charizard, show them what you have learnt," Ash encouraged his pokemon to battle, the powerful fire type flapped his wings and flew towards the foes with as he unleashed another lot of crimson flames at the opposing pokemon, "Salvia, are you ready?" Ash asked the royal quietly. "Dragonite, attack with Dragon Claw," Ash instructed his dragon type pokemon.

"Tyranitar attack with Earthquake," Salvia ordered quickly. The large rock type pokemon stomped on the ground sending out a powerful shockwave towards the opposing pokemon pushing them aside easily and dealing immense damage to Team Rocket's pokemon, "now back Dragonite and Charizard up with Rock Slide, " Salvia quickly instructed her pokemon quickly.

The large rock type unleashed an avalanche of rocks towards the opposing pokemon, more of the rocket's pokemon were hit by the boulders, this continued until a green blob of energy slammed into Tyranitar, "you forget your pokemon is weak against grass types," James boastfully told the princess as her pokemon tried to shrug of the attack, but the rocket watched in shock as his pokemon was hit by a powerful fire type attack.

Ash smirked at the two rockets who were starting to get arrogant, "well you forgot that My Charizard iss still in play," Ash remarked before his dragon type slashed down on the serpent like pokemon, "then there is my Dragonite," Ash pointed towards his green dragon type pokemon as it flew back towards the trainer ready to take the next command.

Jessie looked over to the rest of her team to see them tending to their fallen pokemon, "I didn't expect them to be so strong, their teamwork is amazing," Jessie commented while trying to maintain her cool, "Seviper, attack with Bite," Jessie commanded with vigor.

The serpent charged towards the dragon type pokemon with its mouth agape and its fangs glowing. "Oh no you don't Tyranitar, attack with Dark Pulse," Salvia instructed her pokemon, the powerful dark type unleashed a powerful dark blast of energy towards the poison type pokemon. The dark wave slammed into the fang snake pokemon knocking it back towards Jessie.

"She is getting better, her pokemon are getting stronger," Ash commented with pride while his fire type landed between his two team mates in battle, "even Charizard has gotten better," Ash proudly grinned at his fire type pokemon.

The opposing enemies surrounding Ash and Salvia called back their pokemon and called out another wave of pokemon, "Ash there are too many of them," Salvia commented while looking around to see more pokemon getting involved in the battle, 'most of them have the ability called Levitate,' Salvia thought to herself as she noticed how badly the foes pokemon were panting from the battle they were having with hers and Ash's pokemon.

"Don't think this battle will be over so quickly," James told the couple as they turned around to see even more pokemon surrounding them, "we have you outnumbered in this battle," James told the duo as he showed them more and more of Team Rocket's numbers.

Ash gazed around to see the amount of pokemon in the area, 'this could be trouble,' Ash thought while his three pokemon got ready to battle the rockets, "Raichu attack with Thunderbolt," Ash commanded with certainty, the brown electric pokemon unleashed a powerful blast of electricity in every direction hurting the pokemon from Team Rocket, "damn Raichu didn't get them all," Ash hissed in frustration while Team Rocket got ready to unleash their counter attacks on Ash and the princess.

"Ash I will deal with the people behind you, you take out the ones ahead of us," Salvia told Ash with an assured look in her eyes.

Ash nodded in approval, the princess walked up and stood back to back with Ash while her powerful pokemon got ready to face the overwhelming numbers of Team Rocket, "be careful," Ash whispered to Salvia while continuing to glare at the rockets in front of him, "Dragonite and Charizard attack with Dragon Pulse," Ash told his two pokemon pokemon to restart the battle, the two powerful pokemon unleashed a powerful blast of energy in front them hitting the pokemon in a wide area, "Raichu attack with Thunderbolt again," Ash called out for the next attack while Salvia was hitting the rockets behind him with another avalanche of rocks injuring the pokemon from Team Rocket.

The rocket's looked on in a stunned fashion knowing that their chances of winning the battle were dwindling, "sir, we are having problems doing any damage," one of the rocket grunts told James causing frustration in their ranks, "if this keeps up we will run out of pokemon," the grunt told James quietly.

Jessie looked over to her allies who were having trouble keeping up with the two trainers, "how are they this strong?" Jessie question while looking at her injured pokemon with concern.

"We outnumber them but they seem to counter the numbers with their own power," Meowth pointed out while some of the rockets ran off in fear, Jessie, James and Meowth watched in shock as they were left to fight against the two powerful trainers, "this can't be good, those two have instilled fear into our soldiers," Meowth explained with a frown as he got ready to join the battle.

"Cool it Meowth, it does look like we don't have much chance against these two," James said while trying to keep his cool. James signaled for a huddle to think of another plan to get the colored wings, "we need to separate those two," James whispered before looking over his shoulder to see the two discussing their next plan for the battle, "we simply cannot overpower these two, we might need to trick them into giving us the Rainbow and Silver wings," James whispered while looking over to the duos pokemon who were standing between them and their trainers.

Ash and Salvia noticed how the battle had gone seeing the knocked out pokemon, all around them, "they just abandoned their pokemon," Salvia noted in shock as she sadly walked around the injured pokemon, "how can Team Rocket be so cruel?" Salvia asked as tears started cry from the scene around them before seeing the Rocket Trio breaking their team meeting.

"Salvia, you tend to the injured pokemon, I will deal with these clowns," Ash declared while he moved away from the princess, his two pokemon ready to battle against the two rockets.

"Seviper get the princess," Jessie whispered to her serpent like pokemon with a smirk. "Arbok and Jellicent, time to battle," Jessie called out two more of her pokemon to battle the trainer and his pokemon.

"Weezing and Cofagrigus, let's go," James called out two more of his pokemon.

Ash was kept busy keeping an eye on the four pokemon in front of him, "Raichu, keep an eye on Salvia for me," Ash instructed his electric mouse pokemon, "Charizard and Dragonite, time to show them our power," Ash told his pokemon while maintaining his composure.

Salvia walked up to the injured pokemon before being stopped by a large black serpent, "I am trying to help your teams pokemon, don't you two care?" Salvia angrily asked the rockets with her frustration beginning the build, "Tyranitar stop Seviper with Iron Tail," Salvia instructed her pokemon, the large rock type pokemon swung its massive tail at the fang snake pokemon sending it flying back towards the remaining members of Team Rocket who were still battling Ash with their four pokemon.

"You do realize that there were plenty more members of Team Rocket, waiting for the orders of our boss?" James asked as he pointed over to the people behind him, the rocket trio started to laugh at the trainer and the princess who was still helping the injured pokemon, "you see, these scenes are nothing compared to what you will be facing," James decreed while his two pokemon were battling Ash's Charizard.

The four pokemon were fighting it out with Ash's more powerful pokemon until a scream was heard from behind, Ash quickly looked over his shoulder to see Salvia being wrapped up by Seviper, "Salvia, let her go now!" Ash demanded in anger as he quickly turned his attention back to the rocket trio.

"I will tell Seviper to let her go, but we want something in exchange," Jessie replied to the trainer's demands, Ash pulled out the two feathers from his pocket and looked at them for a moment, he looked over to Salvia who was still trying to break free.

"Ash, don't worry about me, I will be fine," Salvia told her love while trying to get one of her pokeballs, "Mew, I need your help," Salvia tried to call out her legendary pokemon but the pokeball dropped before she could call out the new species pokemon.

Ash tried to run back to Salvia who was getting constricted by the fang snake pokemon but was stopped by another serpent like pokemon, "it's no use, hand over the Rainbow and Silver wings if you want your precious princess to stay alive," James told Ash who was stepping back as the purple snake like pokemon started to threaten him, "call for any attack and we will have Seviper squeeze the air out of your little girlfriend," James threatened with a confident smirk.

"Ash, don't give into them please," Salvia told Ash as she started to lose consciousness from the tightening of the serpents coils, she continued to fade while Ash contemplated what he was going to do next, "please…. Ash," Salvia struggled for air.

"Fine, let her go, I will surrender the wings," Ash submitted to the members of Team Rocket. Ash walked up to the Rocket Elite with the colored wings in his hand while the fang snake pokemon let go of the royal, Ash watched the unconscious royal fall to the ground, "you bastards will pay for that," Ash barked out angrily before handing over the wings to James, he was pushed back by the rockets before they started their retreat, Ash looked to the ground to see one of the pokeballs Salvia dropped, "Mew, get those wings from Team Rocket," Ash called out the small pink pokemon.

Mew teleported towards the rocket trio and used its psychic powers to retake the wings, "hey give us back those stupid wings now," Jessie demanded of the legendary pokemon in anger but it was too late for her to make the demands, it then teleported back to Ash and Salvia before teleporting them away to a safe location.

Ash looked around the corner to see Team Rocket trying to find them, they soon gave up leaving Ash to breathe a sigh of relief from the battle, Ash was given back the mysterious items by Mew, he looked at them for a second thought about the next plan of action, "Ash, thank you," Salvia whispered while sleeping in Ash's arms.

Ash looked down in guilt feeling like this could have all been avoided, but he also knew that another battle was about to take place, "everything will be fine Salvia, I promise," Ash replied to Salvia before kissing her on the forehead. Ash stood up while holding Salvia, watching his Charizard fly away, "thanks buddy for helping us out in that battle!" Ash yelled out with pride before looking over to his Dragonite.

Meanwhile at the other end of the City Jessie and James were talking to their boss about the next mission, "sir we failed to get the Rainbow and Silver wing from the trainer and the princess," Jessie saluted while looking away in shame.

"Doesn't matter not getting those two will not alter our plans, head to Unova with Cassidy and Butch along with you squad, your next mission will be revealed in Accumala Town," Giovanni issued his next command to the rocket elite.

"Sir," the three quickly saluted before closing off the call, the small force got ready to leave for the next region towards their next mission.

While Ash watched Team Rocket leaving on a plane waiting for the young royal to wake up, "damn, it seems like we need to get to my friends before everything goes badly," Ash told himself before hearing the princess waking up after the attack on her, "Salvia, I am so glad to see you're alright," Ash said with relief, "I am sorry I couldn't protect you," Ash said while kneeling down in front of the royal.

"I am fine Ash," Salvia replied as she placed her left hand on his face, "we now need to rescue our parents," Salvia told the trainer with a smile before she stood up and got ready to help with the final battle of the region.

"Alright, time to go," Ash said while he jumped on his dragon type pokemon, he extended his hand and helped Salvia up onto his dragon pokemon before they took off to face their next challenge, "mom, I will be there very soon," Ash stated under his breath while Salvia held onto Ash with the dragon pokemon flying towards the location of the next battle.

Up in the skies of Johto a powerful white pokemon with a purple tail flew across the skies, 'I hope I am not too late,' the pokemon said while it's eyes started to glow a bright blue, 'Ash and Salvia Mewtwo is fully recovered and ready to help in the upcoming battles,' Mewtwo declared openly before flying off towards the location of his two friends, 'I just hope I can reach them in time,' Mewtwo wished before increasing the speed of his flight to get to the next battle.

* * *

**Mewtwo is back in the fray and fully recovered, but the final battle for Johto is at hand against Chris and Alex. **

**Will Mewtwo reach the battle on time? What difference will Mewtwo make? And will Ash and Salvia rescue their respective parents?**

**Next time Episode 41: Rise of the White Flames.**

**The next episode will be released later in the week with the final one being released by the end of the weekend, please tell me what you think and what would you like to see in the next saga. The Unova Saga will most likely take on an (M) rating due to the war I intend to start in the next saga.**


	15. Rise of the White Flames

**Episode 41: Rise of the White Flames.**

_Alright the massive event we have been waiting for, the name implies something massive will happen. Also note this episode was written in advance along with the next one._

* * *

After making it to Whirlpool island on his Dragonite's back, Ash and Salvia looked around the island to see the massive castle in the center of the Island, dark clouds rolling in from the ocean and the strong winds blew in from the west, Ash looked up with determination willing to rescue his mother and the king, "hold on mom and King Brian," Ash whispered under his breath. The trainer closed his eyes and remembered the battle against Team Rocket throughout his quick journey in the Johto region, "we saved the legendary beasts," Ash mumbled while the princess walked up to him serenely.

"Come on Ash, we need to get inside before the storm hits," Salvia suggested while grabbing the trainers hand. Ash opened his eyes and looked down at the young royal, "Ash, whatever happens here….." Salvia started before a loud rumble of thunder peeled through the dark skies.

"No need to say anything," Ash said while nodding his head.

Ash and Salvia approached the ominous building while staying close to one another, they approached the gates of the building feeling nervous, "open up Uncle!" Salvia called out to Chris who was in the castle.

Inside the castle Chris was sitting there with his friend while drinking a cup of tea, "let them in, I don't want them missing out on the main event," Chris laughed darkly allowing Alex to open the gates, "be sure to give them a proper greeting," Chris instructed before Alex saluted his friend quickly, 'so Salvia and Ash are finally here, time to see how well you will deal with what I have in store for you,' Chris thought as he walked out of his room.

He walked down to the dungeon with supreme confidence to see his brother and Delia, "brother I heard my daughter outside," Brian tld his brother before grabbing him to pulling him towards the bars, "what do you intend to do to her?!" Brian asked Chris in anger before being forced to let go of him by the guards.

"Yes do you intend to do to my son and the princess?" Delia asked with concern before coming face to face with Chris.

"Absolutely nothing, I have other plans," Chris laughed evilly at the brunette before walking out of the dungeon. "you know I will let you in on a little secret," Chris stated while turning his gaze to the trainers mother, "you won't have a say in what happens next," Chris said before closing the door to the dungeon. Chris looked over to his guard and smirked, "it is time to see the fruition of our experiments, bring the trainers mother to my office," Chris ordered the guards calmly before walking off to make the final preparations for his plan.

Delia sat on the bed with fear etched on her face, 'what is he talking about?' Delia thought as she heard her sons voice calling out for the gates to open, suddenly the doors opened and one of the guards walked in and handcuffed her, "what are you doing?" Delia asked while trying to run off while the king was watching.

"Hey let her go!" the king ordered before one of the guards punched him in the stomach, "damn you… you will not get…. away with this," the king declared while struggling for air as he collapsed to the ground holding his stomach in pain

Outside the complex the gates opened to allow Salvia in, the rain started to fall forcing them to get in quickly, they turned around to see the rain getting heavier and the strikes of lightning crashing to the ground with the wind howling with incredible force, "welcome to Chris's new castle, he had this built seven years ago," a familiar evil voice told the duo as they walked further into the main foyer, "you know this castle actually serves a powerful purpose, to raise an army to take over the world," the man said before lightning revealed his identity much to Ash and Salvia's shock.

"Alex, what is Chris planning?" Ash asked the man before grabbing his pokeball, his Raichu stood there with sparks flying from his cheeks, Salvia stood next to the trainer with pokeball in hand, "we are here to rescue our families," Ash declared while the princess glared at Alex before a loud scream was heard from the depths of the castle, "Mom!" Ash yelled out as the screams echoed through the halls.

"Ah it seems like my friend has started the party, no need for you to be alive any more little princess," Alex declared before clicking his fingers. After the signal a group of men surrounded the duo, "you two have trained very well, but your journeys end here," Alex announced before walking away as the battle was about to begin, "we hope you two enjoy your final battle together," Alex said before leaving the main foyer.

Ash tried to give chase but was stopped by a powerful Ice Beam, "get out of my way!" Ash demanded while his Raichu attacked the pokemon.

"Mew, it's time to shine," Salvia called out her pokemon, "Ash, go save your mom, I will deal with these guys," Salvia ordered the trainers.

Ash looked to the ground with a smile, "but Salvia, what about you?" Ash asked as he watched the battle between Salvia and the guards.

"no buts Ash, I will be just fine, Mew attack with Shadow Ball," Salvia assured Ash while attacking the pokemon from Chris's small army, "go now," Salvia demanded while calling out her large dragon type to back up her legendary pokemon in the battle.

Ash looked down to his Raichu and smiled, "buddy keep Salvia safe for me," Ash told his electric partner before forcing open the door, "Salvia, please make it back to me safely," Ash told the royal with a smirk. Salvia looked over to Ash and nodded with a grin before the doorway collapsed separating the bluenette and Ash, "alight I guess this is it," Ash said with a sigh.

Salvia looked back at her foes with determination before noticing Ash's Raichu standing next to her, "seems like Ash is always looking out for me, the Lake of Rage where he broke his arm, the Burnt Tower even with one arm he still saved my life," Salvia whispered to herself while smiling at the trainer who was on his way to save his mother, 'I promise you Ash, I will make it back to you alive,' Salvia promised silently before turning her gaze back to the enemies standing in front of her, "but first we need to deal with my Uncles forces," Salvia pointed out while looking over to the three pokemon before a fourth pokemon appeared.

'Seems like my friends are in trouble,' a large gray pokemon with a powerful purple tail said telepathically as the men inside the room panicked at the sight of the powerful pokemon, 'I Mewtwo am here to help Princess Salvia and Ash Ketchum,' it said with coolly before the eyes started to glow a bright blue causing an ominous blue aura to surround a group of pokemon, the powerful psychic force knock the pokemon back causing even more panic in the army.

"Mewtwo, we haven't seen you since Violet City," Salvia said with a smile as he legendary pokemon floated towards the genetic pokemon, "Mew, attack with Psychic," Salvia instructed her pokemon with great vigor. The small pink pokemon's eyes started to glow surrounding another lot of pokemon with a blue aura.

Meanwhile as the battle was raging on in one part of the castle and the dust starting to fall from the force of the attacks were starting to take its toll on the massive structure, "wow the battle seems intense," Ash said with concern, "but there has to be a reason, there is no way Salvia has a pokemon capable of destroying an entire castle," Ash told himself while placing his right hand on his chin.

While Ash was thinking about the battle his bag was starting to heat up, 'It's because Mewtwo has returned,' said a mysterious voice causing Ash to turn around to see where the voice was coming from, 'keep going I will help you soon enough,' the voice said causing Ash to continue down the hallway in search for his mother.

Ash rushed through the hall with the words echoing through his mind, "that stone has been acting up lately," Ash explained while getting to a flight of stairs, Ash looked around the corner to see an entrance, "strange, I can sense someone maybe it's my mom," Ash told himself as he approached the door, he pushed open the door only to be pushed to wall by a guard, "let me go," Ash ordered while trying to free himself. The trainer lowered his left hand and grabbed one of his pokeballs, "Lucario, I choose you," Ash struggled while calling out his pokemon.

A fox like pokemon stood his ground and used Force Palm on the guard, the guard flew out the dungeon with arches of lightning coursing around his body, Ash looked around to see an empty cell, "Ash, it's good to see you again," a familiar voice called out to the trainer, Ash looked to the next cell to see the king standing at the cell entrance, "your mother was taken away a little while ago," Brian pointed out with sadness as the rumblings of the battle, "where is my little princess?" he asked the trainer while more dust fell from the ceiling.

"Salvia is battling against some of your brothers men," Ash replied with a frown causing the king to look at the ground with a smile, "why are you so happy?" Ash asked Salvia's father in shock.

"I am happy because I know she is getting stronger under your guidance," Brian said happily as Ash nodded at his fighting type pokemon. The powerful pokemon made quick work of the lock and freed the king, "Ash, I will head to help my daughter out, you go and save your mother," the king instructed the trainer with a smile, "by the way your mom wishes you a Happy Birthday," the king said while extending his hand towards the trainer.

"But my Birthday was nearly a month ago," Ash said with sadness, the king placed his hand on the trainers shoulder, "sir, you better help Salvia out," Ash said as he started to chuckle for a moment.

"I know, the main foyer right? Even though I am not your father I am proud of you, you have shown great dedication in looking after my daughter, you have earned the right to be her prince in my opinion," Brian decreed while walking out of the of the dungeon, he looked back and nodded before running off to help his daughter, 'do what you can to save my friend,' the royal thought while running down the hallway.

"Well I saved Salvia's dad," Ash said with a small hint of pride, he looked towards the stairs and started to walk towards the first flight, "mom, I am on my way," Ash stated while taking his first steps up the steps. He slowly walked up the steps, he looked out the window to see the rain falling heavily and the powerful winds hitting the castle from every direction, "man that storm is nasty," Ash told himself as he walked down the next hall.

'Keep going, you're not too far off,' the voice told the trainer.

The trainer moved faster down the hall way until the item in his bag stopped him in his tracks, "here?" Ash enquired before the item leapt out of his bag.

Ash approached the door and looked over to the Light stone hovering next to him, 'I will assist you,' the voice said before the door opened Ash walked into the room to find his mother in the seat, suddenly the stone dropped to the ground no longer emanating a flaming aura.

"Guards!" Chris hollered for his guards, from out of nowhere Ash was restrained and pushed to the ground in front of his mother, "so good to see you again, but I am afraid you aren't invited to a special event in Olivine City," Chris declared before throwing a pokeball out calling a dark pokemon with a piercing blue gaze, "you see I have been experimenting, even Colin was a part of my experiment, now I have the perfect device to keep people under my control, all thanks to my failed attempts and to the power of Darkrai have helped one of my scientists create this item," Chris stated while showing off a black collar with a silver box, "you see once your mom gets hypnotized, you will do what I say," Chris declared as the sounds of the battle echoed through the halls.

"Ash, I will be fine," Delia stated while Ash tried to force himself up.

"Chris let my mother go!" Ash barked out in anger as the light stone started to emanate a fiery glow again, "what again?" Ash asked as the energy was released in a mighty blast causing part of the castle to blow up, Ash stood up first seeing a large white pokemon standing in front of him, "wait you're Reshiram," Ash said in shock as the pokemon looked down at him and nodded.

'Yes and my power now belongs to you,' the vast white pokemon declares, before glaring at Darkrai, 'the truth is, Darkrai, doesn't want to do this, in fact it wants to be your ally, so you need to prove yourself like you did to Mewtwo,' Reshiram explained before the flames on the tail began to spout out causing steam to build up.

"Ah the legendary pokemon Reshiram," Chris said as he got, he spotted the brunette and picked her up and grabbed a dagger, "now stop Reshiram from attacking or your mother loses everything," Chris instructed Ash, Ash pulled out a purple pokeball with a look of disdain, "well what are you waiting for?" Chris asked the trainer as the knife got closer to his mother.

Ash threw the Master Ball at the legendary pokemon capturing it immediately, "now let go of my mom," Ash barked at the kings brother.

Chris burst out into laughter before calling out a large pokemon, "well I guess this is where we part ways," he said before jumping onto the large brown pokemon with green wings, "you know, the party is just about to begin," Chris declared before flying off with the trainers mother, Ash stood there watching his mother being taken away from the castle on the back of a Tropius, 'my plan to start a war is almost in place, very soon every region will be at each other's throats,' Chis thought as he looked back to see the trainer turning his back to start running towards the main foyer, Chris picked up his pokegear and called for his friend to take care of Ash.

"At once sir," Alex nodded with a smirk before calling out his Electivire.

Ash ran down the hall to retrieve the princess and the king, suddenly a powerful blast of electricity prevented Ash from going any further, he picked himself up and looked over his right shoulder to see Alex standing there with a dark grin on his face, "get out of my way!" Ash demanded with anger, his fists clenched in rage as he got back up on his own two feet, Alex stood there with Electivire getting ready to unleash a powerful attack on Ash, "I take it that will be a no," Ash said while grabbing his master ball given no choice but to battle Alex for the right to pass.

Alex grinned as he waited for Ash to make his move, "better hurry up young man, I would say Lady Salvia and her dad are in a lot of trouble, you need to make a choice save the one you love or your mother," Alex stated Ash's predicament before bursting out into laughter, "what will it be?" Alex asked in a crazed tone.

Ash looked at his master ball and smiled at it for a moment, "I will save all three," Ash said before throwing out his master ball, "Reshiram, I choose you," Ash called out a large white pokemon with supreme confidence while Alex looked on in amazement, "you're amazed aren't you?" Ash asked the friend of Chris as he tried to walk back but the wall was behind him.

"So that was the reason behind the explosion, Reshiram," Alex said while his pokemon glared at the legendary pokemon.

"Use Fusion Flare," Ash instructed his new partner pokemon with anger. The large white pokemon's tail started to glow until it exuded a powerful wave of heat, a ball of fire formed above the mouth of the vast white pokemon before sending it out towards the electric pokemon, the attack ploughed through the thunder type knocking it out in one hit and dealing significant damage to the building. After recalling the vast white pokemon Ash felt the floor starting to give way and decided to run back to the main foyer, he made it to the stairs and heard even more of the battle echoing through the halls.

Meanwhile Salvia and Brian were fighting off the remaining remnants of Chris's forces before a part of the castle collapsed behind them, "dad, do you think Ash is alright?" Salvia asked with concern as Mewtwo finished off the battle.

"He will be just fine," Brian replied with a confident smile, before Mewtwo used it psychic powers to push a part of the ceiling away from the duo. "Mewtwo thank you," the king said with a smile after noticing the part of the ceiling.

'Mew open them a path, I will make sure they remain safe,' Mewtwo telepathically instructed the new species pokemon coldly.

The small pink pokemon used its abilities to remove some of the stone as more parts of the castle started to fall around them, "Mewtwo please make sure Ash returns to me safely!" Salvia pleaded with the mighty psychic pokemon, the powerful pokemon nodded and smiled at the princess before being escorted out of the crumbling building by her father, 'please Ash, come back safely,' Salvia clasped her hands together and closed her eyes as she prayed for his safety.

Mew made it out alongside its pokemon trainer and her father, "Salvia, I know Ash will make it out alive," Salvia's father assured his daughter before turning around to see more of the castle collapsing, Salvia ran up to the castle with tears in her eyes but as stopped by her father, "no my little princess, I can't let you go in there," Brian decreed while trying to prevent his daughter from going into the castle.

Salvia dropped to her knees as the trainers Raichu watched in horror as more of the building fell to the ground, "Ash!" Salvia cried out for the trainer while watching on helplessly.

After the final parts of the building fell to the ground a mass of psychic energy pushed out the parts of the castle, "what the?" Ash questioned as he looked around to see Mewtwo standing beside him, "Mewtwo? You saved my life," Ash said with a shocked expression on his face before realizing that he failed to save his mother from Chris, he looked around to see if Alex was around but he was nowhere to be found, "great he escaped," Ash said with disdain.

Ash walked from the remains of the building while Mewtwo teleported away from the scene, Ash walked up to the royals, Salvia ran up to Ash and placed her arms around him, "Ash, I was so worried," Salvia confessed while still crying.

"We need to go to Olivine now," Ash said while looking at the ground with guilt.

Salvia pulled back from her embrace to notice that Ash was hurting, "you didn't save Lady Delia," Salvia said with guilt.

The king walked up to Ash and Salvia with a frown, "Ash, what was that explosion?" Brian asked calmly.

"I have awoken Reshiram," Ash replied much to the delight of the princess and the king, "but it wasn't enough, he threatened that if Reshiram attacked he would kill my mom," Ash said while tightening his fists in anger.

"Well then we need to get to Olivine City as soon as possible," the king said before noticing a pokeball being handed to him by his daughter, "Salvia, you're giving me Latios back?" Brian asked his daughter, she nodded in reply allowing her father to take back his legendary pokemon, "you have indeed become stronger Salvia, I am proud of you," the king said with pride before calling out his legendary pokemon, "time to go, we have no time to waste," Brian acknowledged before climbing on to the eon pokemon.

"Reshiram, I choose you," Ash threw out his master ball calling out his mighty dragon type pokemon, Salvia recalled her legendary pokemon and climbed on with Ash, "Salvia, I am sorry I made you worry," Ash apologized while Salvia held on to the trainer relieved that he was just fine. The large white pokemon took off towards the next destination.

The flight didn't take long for the three people, they landed just outside the city to see guards all over the place, they even noticed a few members of Team Rocket around the place, "Ash, what do we do now? This place is crawling with guards," Salvia pointed out the obvious before they were ambushed by a group of men.

The trio were escorted to a mysterious building as the sounds of bells tolled through the air, "what? Where are you taking us?" Ash asked out in anger before being smacked across the back of the head, 'damn caught by guards again,' Ash thought while looking around to see if the princess and the king were alright.

"Hurry up you three, you have been invited to a special event," one of the guards stated while forcing the trio on.

As they got closer a couple of the guards were hit by a powerful attack from one of the roofs of the city, "seems like my friends could use my help," declared a familiar voice.

The group looked up to see Colin standing there please to see his allies, "Colin," the trio called out in unison relieved to see their friend was well.

"I was in the neighborhood when I saw something that was way out of place," Colin said with anger as he approached the trio who were bound.

"What did you see Colin?" Ash asked as an uneasy feeling entered his heart. "Tell me Colin!" Ash demanded in a furious mood.

"Ash, I saw your mother in a wedding dress, it seems like Chris is planning on taking the throne by marrying your mother," Chris replied as the trainer ran off towards the church of the city.

"So that was what the device was all about, as well as the use of Darkrai," Ash said while running through the city with his anger building, he looked up to see the church doors opening in front of him, he ran in but the guards drew their weapons to prevent him from getting any closer. Ash looked back to see Salvia, Brian and Colin running up to him but they were stopped by the guards.

Chris looked back to see the guests arriving, "ah, I had high hopes you would show up," Chris said with a smirk as Ash tried to break pass the weapons but he was tackled to the ground, "my plan was to bring your mother under my control, with this device, I can make Darkrai's power of sleep permanent, make her do what I want her to do," Chris stated with a dark grin, "even use her as a trump card."

"Let my mother go now!" Ash demanded with fury.

Chris burst out into laughter as the trainer watched in rage with his mother standing there emotionless, "you're in no position to tell me what to do, I hold all the cards and very soon your mother will be my wife and I will be the king," Chris pointed out as one of the guards took the priest to start the wedding.

Ash struggled to get back to his feet not watching the proceedings, his head was forced up by one of the guards to watch the event, "mom, wake up please," Ash pleaded as he started to cry at the sight.

Salvia watched with great disdain with her father and Colin, listening to Ash pleading with all his might to try and wake his mother up, but it was a sudden yelling that caught them off guard when the priest said he could kiss the bride, Salvia watched Ash get angrier trying to break free from the grip of the guards, 'Ash,' Salvia silently called out to Ash who was being held in place.

"Hope you all enjoyed the wedding," Chris said before leaving the area with a dark laugh, the guards soon followed allowing Ash to get back up in shock from what had happened.

He screamed out in rage while Salvia, her father, Raichu and Colin watched in sadness, "Chris you will pay for this!" Ash yelled out as he ran for the entrance. "Get back here you coward, I will rip to pieces!" Ash yelled out in a blind rage.

Salvia stopped the trainer as she embraced him again, "no Ash please don't go," Salvia cried as she used all her strength to hold Ash back, "we will rescue your mother I promise," Salvia said as the tears started to soak Ash's Jacket.

Ash collapsed to the ground and yelled out angrily while the King and Colin looked at each other and nodded with slight disdain, 'I was hoping it would never come to this,' Brian thought as he watched his daughter embracing Ash as he continued to seethe with anger directed at his brother, 'but my brother has left me with no choice,' Brian repeatedly told himself while looking away from the duo.

* * *

**As per promised a dramatic ending to the Johto saga, with one more episode to go.**

**So close yet so far for Ash, what will happen next? What is it that was thought of by the king and his friend? **

**Next time episode 42: The New Road Ahead.**


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